Emotional, Without feeling a Thing
by TheDevimangel
Summary: Roxas has everything he could ever want, but still feels so empty inside. Will the Keyblade Wars bring salvation, or an end to his desperate existance? AkuRoku Zemyx SoRiku Cleon and MarLarx. Rated M for a reason, sensuality and Emoness on Roxas' part! Enjoy!
1. The Beginning of an Era

**Description**: Roxas lives on one of the richest of the Destiny Islands, with a loving brother, popularity and money out of the wazoo, and good grades galore. Yet he still cant find that one spot of happiness he's so desperate to find. Will the Keyblade War bring him salvation? Or will he find his nothingness to be too much to handle?

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Kingdom hearts or any of the Final Fantasy games then trust me, I'd occupy most of my time making silly twisted thing from Demy's moans and Clouds blue eyes. But alas I don't, so I'll just cry in the corner now….

**Warnings**: This Story contains boy love, themes of rape, self abuse, suicide attempts, flying monkeys, and harsh words like the word **FUCK**. And yes, I mean it, boy love. Considering I put it under Romance and AkuRoku mainly, then you should have known not to click it if it disturbs you. To all homophobes, fuck off. To all my gay brethren and yaoi loving ladies, thank you for reading. There will be lemons in future chapters, oh yes there will. oh, and i say yaoi because really, there will be lemons, but seriously? lemons arent gonna be twice in a chapter, every chapter. there will probably be only a few squeezed here and there.

**Note**: Oh, and this first chapter is dedicated to Momoluckybunches. I still love how you lemons my watermelons until there are strawberries all over the place. Thank you for caring~!

* * *

Bored, cerulean eyes looked out the window, into the summer twilight and out to the ocean surrounding the property. The boy to whom they belonged played idly with his hair, golden dry, sandy but soft, and bit his soft, almost delicate lips gently. He had no clue what he was doing, only that he knew he shouldn't be thinking the thoughts that resided in his mind. He was wearing his favorite pajamas, a pair of boxers and a simple under shirt, nothing else. He heard music coming from down the hall, some band from Atlantica playing softly.

He wasn't tired anymore. He didn't get as tired as he used to, dark thoughts going around his almost empty head, an ache in his heart. His brother made everything better, of course, but after hours alone, his mind normally went right on back to pick up the ideas floating around his mind.

Roxas was sixteen, almost seventeen. His twin, Sora, was probably preparing for their party, something he always planned out months before hand and perfected along the way. Last time Roxas had checked, they were going to celebrate in the house, instead of on their private beach. It probably went back to the beach now that he considered it.

Roxas sighed, getting up and wondering down the hallway to the sound of cheerful music. The grandfather clock in the hall told him he was up too early, far too early. 4:51. Roxas shook his head slightly as he realized he had gone up to his room and sat on that windowsill for almost seven hours ago. And then he got confused. Sora never stayed up late, he always fell asleep eventually after one at the latest. If he had problems, he should have come to Roxas by now. Roxas could always make his twin go to sleep when he needed it, and Sora knew he didn't mind at all….

His worried thoughts dissipated as soon as he opened the door to the tropical room. His brother, bless him, was sprawled all over the bed, snoring lightly with the light on, his clothes from yesterday still on his person, and the stereo playing in the background. His spikier, brown hair was even more chaotic than normal and covered his face for the most part. Roxas smiled lightly at the sleeping form, and decided the brunette could stand a little more comfort than he was in. He turned off the light, then the music, and then moved all the papers to his desk in a neat pile (something rare in Sora's room) and then gently pulled his brother up the bed and tucked him in lightly, causing a hitch in his brother, but nothing more.

"Goodnight, Sora. Sleep well. I love you," He whispered, planting a light kiss on his forehead.

As he left the room, he thought about himself a bit more.

Sora was charismatic, that was for sure. He was impossible not to love, a friendly, open face that accepted anyone for whoever they were. His heart burst out to give love to any who needed it. He was friendly, very popular, and so damn sweet it hurt sometimes. He liked food, swimming, Struggle matches, making friends, entertaining friends, and he and Roxas shared a connection that was so strong, no one could break it. Sora was the light that Roxas could follow, could hold onto when things turned dark and the shadows in his heart grew. He liked Sea Salt ice cream, tropical colors, and was food already mentioned? Well, he liked it. A lot.

Roxas, on the other hand, was quiet, but even more popular than his brother. Girls adored him, he always had his pick to help himself to if he so inclined, but never had before. No one seemed interesting enough to him to begin with. They were all missing that certain something. Roxas had looks, a killer body, and he lived in a mansion supplied by his oh so loving parents. He liked to read, he liked music, and he easily matched his twin in struggle matches. He didn't make real friends easily, always afraid of being used, but he was able to keep a hold of some of his own through the years. He was a dark, quiet person, always thinking of his life, always living with regrets that seemed strange to others. He also liked sea Salt ice cream, he liked black and white with a tint of red, and unlike his brother, he didn't like to stuff his face full of food.

They were so close because they needed to be. Parents that had lost interest in the children they raised decided that it was just too much trouble to even come home now and again to see them. Roxas and his brother hadn't seen their parents in over seven months. Ever since they were just babies, they had been practically raised by their Nannies. Their parents had even tried to fuss to make them have bodyguards, but they realized on an island society like the Destiny Islands, there wasn't much crime to be had, and very little threat towards their children, so it wouldn't make them look bad if they decided against it. Either way, they barely saw their children, and the only thing they really did for them was give them money to get what they wanted. What they wanted couldn't have been bought with all the Cross family money.

Roxas Cross and Sora Cross only wished for a family. For their parents to love them.

But they made do with what they had. They had each other, and they had their friends. Sora could cook quite well, and Roxas could too. Sora had agreed to make breakfast, and Roxas agreed dinner would be his territory. They rarely ordered food, and when they did it was because there was nothing to make in the house. They did their laundry; they cleaned up their rooms, and left the cleaning to the cleaning crew every Sunday. They had it as good as it could get, and they rarely found something they couldn't have.

"Except the one thing I want most…." Roxas sighed, entering his room and shuffling off into the covers. He might be able to get a wink in before school started in a few hours, and if not, its not like he hadn't shown up tired before. He was always tired of something.

* * *

"Wakey wakey! Eggs and pancakes!" Roxas heard as he was viciously tickled out of his bed onto the floor. He blinked in surprise when he realized Sora had entered his room without him noticing. He hadn't gone to sleep, but he had blanked for about an hour.

"Sora, I'm up already." He frowned, getting up and untangling himself from the sheets.

"I know, but hey, better to be woken up and given food then not woken up and rushing for school." His brother smiled mischievously. Roxas couldn't help but grin as the brunette hugged him to his side and walked down the long corridors down to their kitchen.

Roxas smelled eggs and pancakes, mixed with delicious syrup and whipped cream. Of course Sora would go all out. It was a Monday, which meant a longer day than normal. At the end of it, there would be a get together of friends at the usual spot.

"Thank you, Sora." He smiled, giving the blue eyed brother a squeeze before sitting down and shoveling everything he could into his mouth. He had plenty of time before class began, so he could take a shower and get ready.

"I swear, how do you eat so much? you stay skinny as a stick, and you never gain weight!" Sora tried to say through a muffle a food in his own mouth, and Roxas grinned.

"What can I say, we have high metabolisms. That, and you swim while I workout every Sunday. And we both Struggle." He shoved the last of the delicious pancakes into his mouth, finished it off with a glass of orange juice, and dashed upstairs to get his shower over with.

He quickly disrobed, refusing to look at himself in the mirror, a routine that had been kept in place since he was twelve. He took a steaming hot shower to calm his nerves and keep himself collected. He had all his work done, his friends were all okay, and he had no reason to stress. Then why the hell did he feel like something was off?

He got dressed in a stylish pair of jeans and loosely buttoned long sleeved shirt. It didn't make him warm because of its breathing fabric. After he was satisfied that his hair was the right amount of messy, he grabbed his bag and headed out the door with Sora.

"So, have the party planned out yet?" he teased, and Sora stuck his tongue out playfully, shaking his head.

"You don't get to ask much about that yet. I've decided its gonna be a surprise for you, cuz seriously dude? You need a surprise or two!" he touched his fist lightly to Roxas' arm, and Roxas laughed silently and shook his own head. Of course Sora would try to keep it a secret until the very end. Sora had a thing for making surprises pop up out of nowhere.

As they reached the school itself, they were bombarded by girls and the occasionally boy asking them if they wanted to hang out, if they'd like to go get some coffee, the basic flirt and beg of the fans. Roxas was always so bored with it, because none of those girls ever interested him. They may have been pretty, but he never saw it.

They carefully made their way into the school, being followed most of the way until they hit their lockers. They had established a long time ago that locker stalking was _not_ okay. As Roxas opened his locker, he found an unusual amount of pink that did not belong to him. Three pink pieces of paper were folded and somehow slid into the slits on his locker, and he knew what they were. Love letters.

"EW! I got some too…." Sora said, taking the two that were in his and opening them carefully. He grimaced as he read the words and smelled the perfume that had been sprayed on one. He sighed, and, because Sora was never mean to innocent girls, he took out two pieces of paper and started to write down how sorry he was, but he couldn't accept the tokens of love and affection. Sora never wanted to see girls cry, and he did his best to make sure they didn't. Roxas, on the other hand, ignored them until it became obvious the person was going to take it steps farther, say, like asking him out and bugging him in person. Paper is easily recycled. People are not.

"I'm just gonna throw them out. I don't know why you bother even responding. The nicer you act to them, the more encouraged they are until they break and go psycho killer on your skinny little ass." Roxas huffed, tossing the love letters in the nearest trash can.

"That's kinda mean, Roxas. They don't deserve to be thrown away like garbage. And no, I'm not talking about the letters; I'm talking about the people. They're sensitive, and they don't seem to get that they don't know us enough to love us." His brother responded seriously, with a sad look on his face.

"Exactly. What makes them think they know us so well? Hm? They don't, and I don't really care for them to. I have friends, and I'm honestly not interested in making someone more than one until _I_ want it. Besides, who wants to be followed around all day by a group of girls that adore us? Not me…. And besides, I don't read them anymore since that one that talked about twincest. It made me shudder so bad I felt like throwing up, not that you're not the person I love most in this world, but still… not cool." He blanched, shaking his head sharply when the memory assaulted his mind. Sora twitched beside him and shuddered delicately.

"Okay, point taken. Let's go before I think on that anymore, cuz its seriously making me feel sick." They both headed to their first hour together and sat down. Algebra had never felt so safe.

"Class, please, take your seats soon. The bell is about to ring." Mr. Fair said behind his desk. His black, messy hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. Roxas liked him, he was a fair teacher as his name suggested. He gave homework every night, but he'd make sure everyone could get it done at least halfway.

They started to hand their assignments in when a blonde, messy head of hair peeked through the door and tried to sneak to his seat next to Roxas as silently as he could. He didn't succeed.

"Hayner, if you're late again, you get a detention, got it?" The teacher said, not even looking up from his papers on his desk. The sandy blonde flinched and sighed, grumbling an affirmative to him as he took his seat.

"I swear, Olette just wouldn't hurry up this morning, dude! I was able to get her a ride here, escorted her to her first hour, and right when I walk out the bell rings! I mean, what the hell?" he complained, earning a smile from Roxas and his twin, chuckling as the moody boy grumbled again and searched his bag for his homework.

Just then an alarm sounded throughout the school, piercing all levels of noise and bringing everyone to an absolute silence. Mr. Fair looked up and quickly closed and locked the door, shut the window blinds and yelled "Everybody, get in under your desks NOW!".

Everyone obeyed, frightened by the sudden outburst and ringing sirens. They all immediately assumed the position under their desks and hushed as the siren stopped. For the longest moment, all there was were heavy breaths and pounding hearts, frightened by what might be heading for them, or who might be in the school. They had never had a situation on the islands that demanded the procedure that took place now. They waited and waited, no one daring to ask what was happening, no one moving or talking. Minutes went by, fear holding everyone in place, until they cramped and whimpered. And then the phone rang loudly. Mr. Fair immediately picked it up, listening to the other end and never speaking until he said in a dejected, grieving voice, "I understand."

"Class… you can come out now." He waited for everyone to get up, back into their seats, and await for whatever information had been received. After everyone had their eyes on him, the teacher spoke again. "Minutes ago, we received word of a Tonberry missile heading towards the islands, and we had no idea which one it would hit… until just now. The missile hit Hollow Bastion. And… Spira has declared war upon the peoples of Kingdom Hearts. Atlantica, The Pride Lands, and Agrabah have declared themselves allies to the Kingdom, and Hollow Bastion was a key strategy point made by our people. Half the city has been obliterated… and they are calling aide. The… The Keyblade wars have begun."

Roxas only had time to think _oh shit_ before hell broke loose upon their little island.

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Thank you for reading the first chapter! please review, and ill try my best to update weekly! remember, reviews=love, so love me!


	2. A Talk With Father

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts right now, but I have a plan. Kidnap all involved, hold them hostage, make my demands, have the rights handed over to me, and then make my escape on a Mickey Mouse go cart….. Yeah, no. not gonna work.

**Warnings**: Standard warnings aply

**Note**: This second one goes to themusicalmuffin, you made my day because you gave me my first ever Kingdom Hearts REVIEW! Love you. You get a special prize… what do you want?

They were immediately dismissed from their classes to be taken to the lowest part of the school, the basement, until they were somewhat sure that their island wasn't a target. No one knew what to really do in a situation like this, since the Destiny Islands had never actually been attacked since they had settled it over a hundred years ago. They were meant to be peaceful, and instead they were in a panic. Student filled the halls, putting their books away and heading down to the lower levels of Radiant High.

"Dude, what the fuck? I mean, seriously, what the fuck?" Hayner exclaimed as they hurried down the stairs into a darker part of the school.

"We never even saw this coming." A white blonde girl sighed, joining in next to them. Namine Heiral was the best artist in Roxas' group of friends, and one of the kindest girls in the world. She was either sadly happy or calmly happy or just plain filled with innocence, never inbetween or otherwise. No anger entered her heart. Though she and Roxas tried to make it work, they could never amount to anything other than close friends. Roxas couldn't say he loved her, but he never said that to anyone other than Sora… and…

"Who knew that Spira would go crazy on the Kingdom anyway? We never did anything to them, did we?" Pence, a rather chubby fellow with pineapple like dark hair asked, joining in with Olette and Kairi. Olette had normal brown hair, and was pretty much a tomboy. Kairi, well, she had strange red wine hair, and when Sora asked if it was natural, she dyed her hair brown, to prove that her roots would come out the wine color. They did, and everybody was stumped. She was also way too chipper, and had a kind, yet sarcastic air around her. She didn't beat around the bush, she got to the point quickly. Which she did next.

"The Kingdom has power, and everybody knows all Spiran Douche bags want power. Hello, look at our own military strength, we have Key Blade Wielders, Gun Blades, Soldier Class, and not to mention all those damn computer programs that function more like humans then they do computers. Spira's just jealous, and that jealousy just turned into something icky." She shrugged, having made her point, and turned her IPod back on. Everyone stared at her for a moment, before looking to Roxas himself. He sighed. They always wanted his input.

"Kairi pretty much said it all. And recently, I heard that Spira gained a new advantage. They just gained Crusaders, Summoners, Tonberry missile defense systems, and Their new weapon, S.I.N. From what I heard, its one huge machine." Roxas sighed, and shook his head. "Spirans aren't all bad, remember that. Just most of the ones in power, like Yevon and the Crusader Corps. Zanarkind receded from their government after the last huge blowout between Spira and… um… Sora? Who was it they fought against? You always like to draw their mechs."

"Oh! They tried to fight all the Fal'Cie from Cocoon. Might as well just have jumped off an airship, hehe." He giggled, rolled his eyes, and turned somber once more. "What do you think happened to all those poor people in Hollow Bastion? I mean, the castle itself was probably the target, but there's a town right at its footsteps!"

No one knew how to answer the brunette, because how do you say something you know isn't true, and they know it too? Hollow Bastion was gone, they were sure, and any survivors would be heading….

"Oh shit, they're all coming here." Kairi and Roxas said at the same time. Everyone looked at them for a moment, and, realizing how close Hollow Bastion was to them, they nodded.

"I wonder where the poor things will go… we don't have much empty space on this island." Namine sighed, shedding a single tear. Sora, seeing his cue to intervene before there was a torrent, hugged her tightly and whispered sweet nothings, saying it would be alright and they'd find someplace to put everyone so they wouldn't hurt so much. Namine, though knowing he couldn't guarantee anything, smiled and walked on. Sora could do that to people.

"Everyone, please be seated! We have called for aide as soon as possible, but we must remain calm!" The headmaster, Xehanort boomed over the loudspeaker. Everyone settled down onto the floor of the underground activities room, normally used for school dances, in this case used for a shelter. After everyone was quiet, the principal swiped his long silver hair back and continued.

"As you all know, and have most likely learned by now, Spira has declared war upon all of the nations under The Kingdom Hearts. We have received intelligence that their weapon, S.I.N, is terrorizing Traverse town as we speak, and our army is mobilizing to their location. They made demands earlier in the week for our technology over cyber translation, and when we refused, they attacked our key research center, Hollow Bastion. The Castle itself had reinforced shields, but the town below was…" He choked, stony face twitching once, then smoothing out and sighing, "Not so lucky."

Many people started to cry. A Tonberry, if aimed right, could wipe out nations all at once. Many people on the islands were related, or knew each other in some way. Though Hollow Bastion was farther than the others, It was still apart of their home, and every single person in the room felt a loss because of it. Even Seifer, the head school bully, felt something.

"Why don't we just wipe these fuckers out? We've been tolerating them for way too long! Mickey should never have let them go for what they tried to do to Cocoon!" he yelled, standing up and snarling. His goons, Rai and Fu followed suit, though Vivi's snarl was a little on the unimpressive side. Xehanort nodded calmly, and glared Seifer down until he sat and huffed.

"Cocoon itself has asked if they may fight alongside us, and, though we are still undecided, I do not doubt their Fal'cie and L'Cie will be welcome. The time for tolerance is indeed being pushed, and I doubt, young man, that we will just let them by after this horrendous attack. They will _pay_ for what they have done, you can be assured that." The principals voice, by the end of his speech, had turned cold and very inhuman. He realized that not a few people were worried about the sudden change from calm to cold fury, and eh coughed before continuing again.

"The survivors of Hollow Bastion, though it has been undecided what they are to be done with, will either reside in the castle, or, in the case of south district, come here to stay with us. We will decide arrangements when they arrive, but as of yet, we have no space to put them. If you would like to volunteer to house some of the unfortunate, please come to the office after quarantine is complete and we are off lockdown. Thank you, that is all." He stepped down from the podium and swiftly went over to the other teachers, talking in low, indiscernible tones.

As Roxas looked at his friends, he realized something. Almost every one of them was determined to help out in some way. Kairi and Namine, being sisters, looked at each other and nodded sternly, faces set in an expression of determination. They would be letting people stay with them for sure. Pence looked worriedly at the podium, and kept nodding to himself. Roxas couldn't tell what he would do. Hayner, he sneered and muttered something under his breath, and Roxas understood that he would help too, all he could.

"Roxy… we need to help." Sora whimpered, big blue eyes looking at Roxas with a look of pure sorrow. Roxas just nodded quietly and looked up at the ceiling, painted with stars. They couldn't house anyone in their mansion, but they owned a private guest apartment complex on the side of the beach front, merely five blocks from their own housing. They could stick people in there if need be, probably up to three or four families.

"Yeah, we'll help out Sora. Don't worry." He smiled, tucking his twin under his arm and hugging him to his side. He would have the long conversation ahead, letting Sora worry about other things. He wouldn't tell Sora until after, just in case his worried brother decided talking to his parents wasn't a good idea.

* * *

They had been released hours later, around five o 'clock in the afternoon. Everyone was tired, and classes were to be delayed for the next week or so. No one exclaimed with happiness that they were getting a miniature break. Instead, everyone asked each other how much room they had in their house, or if they knew of empty houses and hotels. The miniature city in the middle of the island, Twilight Town, was full of tourist attractions, and there should be a little more room in the apartments and hotels now, during the crisis. The Old town had a few vacant houses, and there was maybe one old motel in it that rarely got visitors anyway. Everyone seemed like they were on a mission to help their island brethren from Hollow Bastion.

Namine bid them farewell, grabbing her redheaded sister and heading to their home, ready to set their plan upon their parents. Pence went home, calling his parents on the way. Hayner didn't know what to do, so he just went with the pineapple headed boy and scowled at the situation.

The twins headed back to their mansion, Sora fixed with a worried look on his young face. Roxas could practically see the gears turning in his head, delaying the party for some time, and making arrangements in his head. Their guest complex held enough space for about three or four families, and there would be room to stick more. He'd arrange to get it cleaned, stocked, and decorated based on the needs of the family living in the level.

Sometimes being Sora could be hard, the blonde guessed.

They were silent, basically having a conversation in their heads. They knew what the other wanted, for the most part, and nothing needed to be said to have the point made clear. Sora would plan out the arrangements, and Roxas would go work on something top secret. In this case, a phone call to his father. Roxas departed for his study after they had arrived, and Sora departed for the kitchen to make them something.

The young blonde slid his backpack off to the side as he walked through the double doors to his study, all wood, dark and shining with polish. He walked to the desk, and instead of just picking up his phone, he sat himself down in front of the conference call area, and pressed the contacts. His hand trembled, ever so slightly, as he chose his fathers number. He expected his father to answer within a minute, and, being right, adjusted himself accordingly. His father, Charles Vente Cross, looked at him with cold, calculating ice blue eyes, pure blonde hair slicked back with a clean cut and polished look. He wore a white suit, impeccable and never dirty, and his handsome features never seemed so disinterested.

"Roxas, there better be a good reason for this call. I am quite preoccupied with matters that don't concern-." His father started, but Roxas did something he normally never did, and in fact had never done. He interrupted his father.

"Hallow Bastion was just bombed earlier this morning at a rough time of 8:13 am. There are matters that must, and _will_ be spoken of here and now. We have been called on to provide shelter, and I plan to open our guest residence to a balanced number of families. This endeavour neither hurts you nor directly pays you, though it will show good faith with the people, and spread a message of tolerance out to you. I believe it would be a wise decision at this point, sir." Roxas said quickly and efficiently. His father, cold and barely detectably outraged, calmed as his son spoke, and thought carefully on what steps to proceed on. He nodded to himself, eyes drifting down, the benefits being weighed with the risks, and, reaching some conclusion, darted his gaze back to Roxas with a final judgment.

"I approve of this plan. I expect you to provide well for these people, and as long as they remain outside of your residential area, I believe all will be respectable by your mother. Do not disappoint me, Roxas." He looked down, chest rising and falling in a deep breath once, and then gathered a few documents and looked back at his son. "Since you have called, I may as well get the reports from you now. There will be no reason to involve your brother."

Roxas nodded, and, sensing that his father wished for absolute privacy, went over and locked the door, posting a 'do not disturb, father is on' sign. Sora would be horrified, but he would be wise enough to obey it.

"We have received our allowance with no complications, and we have spent regularly. Clothing cost has lowered itself to four percent, food has a rise up to twenty percent, and school has remained empty for the time being. Our available budget has been kept at a large sum, and though Sora is holding a celebration soon, I see no reason for us to use even fifty percent of what is left. Now, I believe that it will be our concern to care for our guests, ours meaning Mine and Sora's. I will a lot a number approved by you to the guests. Thirty nine percent seems efficient, do you have a counterproposal?" Roxas spoke, following the same tone and manner as his father. Though he hated it, it was the easiest way to placate the man, by following his manner. It made calls less painful and less complicated.

"I have a mild degrade, I wish thirty five percent of the budget be spent on the guests, and I doubt your brother will achieve even ten percent of your overall allowance. You have done well in keeping a record, I would suggest, though, that you add in data from previous quarters and create a difference plan. Make sure utilities come to an agreeable rate. I see you have spent time outside of the island. I was unaware of a trip; I wish to know the circumstances and the location." He awaited, following his sons hands for a moment, like papers spread on the desks in front of both of them.

"I took a much warranted rest, spent time with a therapist main land. I believe I am reasonably functional now. Sora accompanied me on the trip, and we visited Atlantica. We also met with Ms. Ariel, and I believe you will be pleased that she has asked for your attendance at the next Atlantican Ball." Roxas knew his father wouldn't like it until he could process it. He was rewarded with a frown, and a slight slant to the eyebrows.

"Why would you think I have time for such trifling matters?" Charles asked, glaring quietly at his son. Roxas was proud he didn't flinch at the man's tone and look.

"The King of Atlantica has expressed interest in our company and its workings, what it manufactures. He was quite delighted to hear that you could provide Mythril and various materials to expand Atlantica in the future. He also expressed interest in your new line of Machina. He wishes to speak with you at this ball, and if you attend, it will become beneficial for the Company and for employee morale. Many of our northern workers are from Atlantica, and having their king personally interested in the company they work for will boost morale. With this, we will get better results and most likely faster income. The common people live to please their leaders, as you well know father." Roxas replied, fixing his father with an emotionless stare. His father surprised him then, giving Roxas a curved, business smile. Roxas hated it with all he had inside of him.

"Why, I see I've had an impact on you after all. I approve then, of your trip, and of your mannerisms. Of course, next time you go, I would wish for explanations sooner rather than later, and be sure to leave your brother at the hotel you are staying at. It would do no good to show our customers exactly what kind of character resides inside our family." He smiled again, and then returned to his stoic, neutral face. Roxas wished he could punch the man through the screen, but doubted he'd get anywhere but back in the hospital.

"Of course, sir. The company is well, I assume? You increased our allowance in the past few months." Roxas noted, gazing at his father with mild interest. His father nodded.

"Our new machina line has helped the Kingdom greatly. I have no doubts, from what I have heard, that their will be much profit to be made in the coming years. I have already received orders for Reapers and bio suits. I expect our newest models to wreck havoc on those idiots in Spira." His father, when mentioning Spira, actually seemed to get pissed. Face and body actually into the emotion.

"Father, why are you so angry with Spira? Haven't you sold to them in the past?" Roxas asked, real curiosity growing inside his head. Why would his father get angry with a country waging war? War was the best industry for his company, building coming in second.

"Because, Roxas, they stole our very own specs for that insidious machine of theirs, their 'S.I.N' model. It was based off dozens of our machina, the E.M field, the Scale Robotics, everything! Those bastards stole pieces from MY machine to attack MY homeland. Which is why though I may be making a profit on this war, I'm personally working on specs for new models, models to destroy that infernal abomination. Roxas, there _is_ a point where machine has gone too far. That _thing_ is not an instrument of war, it is an instrument of death. They even gave it A.I capabilities. It can think for itself, and a machine that thinks is a dangerous thing at best, completely lethal at worst." The man panted a little at his outburst, taking his handkerchief and wiping his brow to make sure he was presentable. " Roxas, this world is corrupted. We make profit off of that corruption. But sometimes, you have to stop and step back, to at least try and take a look at what you have wrought. I should have realized Spira's intentions for my machines, and I will _not_ make that mistake again. They will not be allowed to make me look foolish."

"This… machine, it comes from our company?" Roxas felt his eyebrow twitch, and immediately froze. He couldn't let his face betray his feelings, not again. His father would not tolerate ill behavior towards himself again.

"Not directly, boy, they took bits and pieces and assembled them together. The time and power it must have taken to build the thing must have half of that backwater country in the dark and hungry right now. Serves them right for…" his father stopped, feeling his temper rise again. Roxas' temper was rising as well, feeling ashamed yet again that he could not stop his father from destroying the world. At least, that's how he saw it.

Ever since he was twelve, he had known _exactly_ what his father made, other than buildings. Ever since he was twelve, he had hated his father with everything he had in him, even more than before. Because he knew his father would end up being the cause of it all. The cause of the end of the world. He could only hope that his father died sometime soon after he turned eighteen. Then he'd have control of the company, and possibly shut down all weapons manufacturing. Until then, his father was the merchant of death and defense.

"Either way, they will regret it, hear me. Now, off of the subject, I have news for you now. I have reports here… yes, here, that say Twilight Town will have a Naval Ring around it, consisting mainly of our boat models. You won't be caught by surprise again. And, I see that there are a few issues with the Manson's security. I will have that checked by our technician in the morning, is this understood? In the meantime, you must behave appropriately, deal with our guests in perfect manner, and keep a hold of that brother of yours; I wouldn't want him to cause issues with our reputation. Is this all understood, son?" he looked inquiringly at Roxas.

"Yes, father, I understand perfectly. Give mother my mother, if you would be so kind, and I wish you well in your plans for the company. Oh, and father?" the man looked up at his son, eyes questioning. "I had a chance to look over those blueprints you sent over a week ago… I have added my own notes to them, though I admit I cannot say if they are the best qualified. I hope that you approve." He sent them in a link, and his father, instead of exiting out and ignoring him further, decided to open it in front of him.

"This is the… Cactuar model?" Roxas nodded, and his father gazed at the plans intensely, taking his stylus and making notes of his own. "I shall contact you by the end of the week with a report on this. By then, the refugees will have arrived, and I expect you to have a report on their arrangements. Do not disappoint me."

And with that, the screen went black, and Roxas' father left. Roxas stared at it for the longest time, the image of his father still burned into his mind. _Do not disappoint me…_ Of course not. It's always thew exact same parting, 'Do not disappoint me', never an 'I love you', or, 'Be good'…. All Roxas got from his parents were the same goodbyes, filled with business and no love. And Roxas hurt every time his mask melted off.

He got up, sensing a breakdown about to occur, and exited the study. Sora was nowhere to be found, and Roxas was honestly glad. He didn't want to see his brothers worried and scared reaction to his nearly emotionless face. He walked down the halls, ending up in front of his door. He pushed it open slowly, motions memorized, his mind blank and unthinking. As he strode to the bathroom, he felt a buzzing underneath his skin, a strange sensation, as if pain had manifested itself into a certain point, right at his veins. His mind turned from blank to panic in a second. There was too much pain inside his heart, too much to deal with. He had to get it out before it consumed him, he had to let out all of the bad emotions. He was now in front of a mirror, looking at a person with blank, wide eyes, hands gripping the edge of a sink. He saw the person grab a hold of something below the edge, a drawer perhaps. Then he saw the shining savior, something to help him.

"Stop the pain…." He cried to the person on the other side. The person didn't smile, didn't acknowledge it completely, but they did raise their arms, one held out towards Roxas, the other holding the shining metal over it.

The air tasted of copper before long, and the sounds of screams issued soon after.

* * *

Sora froze as he was awoken by a scream.

"Oh my god." He gasped, dashing towards his brother's room. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep, but then he thought that Roxas would notice him waiting outside the door, against the wall immediately… and of course he was too distraught to even notice, because Sora knew… Sora knew how Roxas got. He should have made sure he wouldn't miss him!

"ROXAS! Roxas! Please! Open up!" he cried as he kicked open the bedroom door and slammed himself against the bathroom door. Locked. Sora cried out as another soft, barely noticeable scream came again, more of a moan than anything. He heard the clang of metal on tile, and knew what his brother had done. "ROXAS! NO!"

Sora looked around for something, anything that could open the damn door and get him to his twin, anything at all. He saw a chair, and without thinking grabbed it and started to smash open the door. Oh god, if he was too late….

One final heave of wood against wood made a resounding crack as the door finally caved, lock broken off and the door slamming open.

Roxas was on the floor, looking like an angel, face uplifted and sighing in relief. His back was against the wall, arms out and flopped almost uselessly next to him, bleeding from thin, shallow cuts, placed systematically apart and put there with a purpose. The amount of blood from those tiny, thin cuts was enormous, causing Sora's heart to stop and restart with a kick. Roxas looked over with glazed eyes, smiling softly at him beneath nearly dead eyes.

"Sora… I got rid of the pain… it doesn't hurt anymore, just tickles…." Roxas started to giggle, and Sora cried out and took a towel, trying to use anything he could to stop the bleeding. He binded the cuts as fast as he could, then dashed into the other room and grabbed the phone.

"911, please state your emergency –" a pleasant voice started, and was cut off with a screaming "MY BROTHERS BEEN HURT, GET THE FUCKING AMBULANCE HERE NOW!"

All Roxas could think of was how Sora had a dirty mouth when he got angry. And it just didn't suit him. He giggled slightly, giddy with a high from the blood loss. He slowed when he realized the itching feeling was back, that feeling something was building up in his veins. He frowned as he realized he had stopped bleeding. But the pain wasn't all the way out, he had to make sure every drop of pain was gone, at least until he was better. He tried to take off the towels, but they were bound to his arms, and he was too weak to do anything but glare at them. The pain was back by the time Sora got back in the room.

"Ma'am, if you don't get an ambulance over here right now, I'm going to make what's left of your day a living _hell_. Oh, and hanging up won't help, I can find out where you- No Roxas, stop trying to get them off! Dammit!" Sora was cut off as Roxas begin slicing at the towels, being more successful as the pieces came off in strips. Roxas glared with a loathing.

"Yes, thank you, lacerations to both arms, self inflicted- Yes, _ma'am_, I've done this report numerous times… Yes, I know… look, are they coming or not? They are? Good, so stop asking so many god damn questions. Yes, I have a potty mouth… Only when I'm pissed, woman. No, I'm normally incredibly sweet and my world floats on rainbows… funny thing is, I'm actually being some what serious, I'm a happy person normally… ugh, never mind, I'm hanging up now, you already told me they were coming." Sora hung up, sighing and switching back to panic mode, he got little towels, soaked them in hot water, and them quickly changed the towels out and started to clean Roxas. He'd done it some times before now.

"Sora, it still hurts…" Roxas whimpered, almost completely out of it. Sora sighed.

"Roxas, I know it does. It hurts me too. But you doing this hurts me more. Do you like hurting me?" Sora asked, and Roxas flinched. No, no Roxas didn't like hurting Sora. He never thought about how it hurt Sora until after.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Sora… I tried to stop the pain, I… didn't mean to give it to you." He cried, tears falling down his face. He suddenly looked fourteen again.

"I know, Roxas, I know."

* * *

kay, review and tell me what you thought! Thanks!


	3. General Idiocy

**Description**: Roxas lives on one of the richest of the Destiny Islands, with a loving brother, popularity and money out of the wazoo, and good grades galore. Yet he still cant find that one spot of happiness he's so desperate to find. Will the Keyblade War bring him salvation? Or will he find his nothingness to be too much to handle?

**Disclaimer**: Um, I still don't own it. Reminds me of George Carlins' fuck Mickey Mouse'… yeah, sorry Mickey, but I want your Disney. Oh, and why have a birthday for AN _IMAGINARY _MOUSE? Because he's an American Idol, that's why. –duh-

**Warnings**: This Story contains boy love, themes of rape, self abuse, suicide attempts, flying monkeys, and harsh words like the word **FUCK**. And yes, I mean it, boy love. Considering I put it under Romance and AkuRoku mainly, then you should have known not to click it if it disturbs you. To all homophobes, fuck off. To all my gay brethren and yaoi loving ladies, thank you for reading. There will be lemons in future chapters, oh yes there will. Oh, and I say yaoi because really, there will be lemons, but seriously? Lemons aren't gonna be twice in a chapter, every chapter. There will probably be only a few squeezed here and there. Oh, and after this chapter, I've decided to make the intro stuff like this shorter. It gets to be a pain on my style.

**Note**: Again, thank themusicalmuffin for reviewing! I love you. Yes, you personally. But don't worry. All who review are loved even more by me!

Oh, and another note. Hope is from Final Fantasy XIII, and though I know he's not in Kingdom Hearts, I decided a lot of the people from Final Fantasy are fair game. So, in effect, I don't own the Final Fantasy stuff either. –Cries in a corner-

* * *

Roxas was, of all things, embarrassed.

How could he do something so stupid over and over? Why did he let his head and his 'father' get to him? There was no excuse to do what he did to himself, knowing how it would or might play out. What was the point of cutting yourself so many times? What was the point of cutting at all? He knew it would only hurt himself and all those who actually cared about him, and if his father found out again, he would only get mad. Namine would cry and worry over him, Kairi would be a total bitch about it, and the guys would be worried in their own various ways. Sora would simply sit there and hold his hand. So, again, why would he cut himself?

Because there was no other way to get that insidious, evil, twisted pain out of his blood. Because he felt like he was dying with every passing second, every tick on that god damned clock in his bathroom. He couldn't stop himself from trying to alleviate the suffering, that cold fire inside his veins. It happened every time he talked with his father, every time he had to face the man that should have loved him for all the world, should have taken care of him instead of taking better care of his company.

Sora would never have let him talk to his father alone if he knew Roxas' plans. Sora knew his father could tolerate the blonde, and that his father despised him personally, but he would brave the icy glare and dark words. He would brave anything for Roxas, and Roxas knew it. But, how could he brave anything for Sora when he had a weakness so large in his armor? Everyone else saw him just the way he wanted them to, why did the people that mattered have to know about it? Why couldn't he just suffer on the inside and keep it at bay?

"Roxas, how are you feeling today?" The nurse asked, interrupting his thoughts before they could go down a darker path. He was actually relieved to be interrupted.

"I'm… better. I don't know what came over me." He muttered, looking away from the kind, understanding eyes. They seemed to droop a little, like she was saddened by his predicament. Who knew, maybe she was.

"You don't look like the kind of young boy who would listen to me recommend a therapist, are you?" she asked softly, gazing at him with… okay, Roxas couldn't doubt that this woman had a large heart. She actually did care.

"I… there isn't one on the island, as far as I know. I don't want to go to mainland every week. I have work and school to consider." He sighed, closing his eyes gently. She had just added a dose of pain medication, and he never thought he'd feel anything sweeter. No worries, though, the kickback hurt enough for him to not want to be an addict.

"Actually, I know of someone who just came to the island a month ago, trying to spread his business over to the Destiny Isles. He's relatively knew, but he will hold residence on this island, and I'm sure he could fit you in his schedule." She smiled, looking for some kind of agreement. Roxas had to admit, he hated therapists with a fiery passion, but they had their uses.

"Wait, you said he 'could' fit me in his schedule. Is he really getting that much business?" Roxas asked curiously. It was strange for a newcomer to get any business on the islands. He had to make friends and neighbors first.

"Well, he's been called on to aide the refugees from Hollow Bastion. They're all coming over here, so…." She trailed off, seeing something in the young blonde's eyes.

They were _all_ coming here? There wasn't nearly enough room for six thousand people more on the island! Hollow Bastion had been extremely large, the largest of all the Destiny Islands!

"Um, I thought only the refugees from south district were going to be coming here?" Roxas said. South district was a relatively poor and small district in the castle system, and he had assumed it had been hit….

"Honey, the only refugees from Hollow Bastion are _from_ the south district. Everywhere else… was decimated. Only half of south district was hit. There are about six hundred coming, the rest who survived are in the castle and making plans for repairs." She said, eyes filled with unspilling tears. Roxas went pale.

Out of the thousands of people on that island, roughly six hundred survived. The rest were being kept in the immense castle.

Roxas couldn't process all of this at once. People back at school had no idea what to expect, and they wouldn't know until probably the start up of school. They wouldn't have to panic to find shelter for all these people, because there weren't that many to shelter in the first place. The young blonde couldn't wrap his head around the idea of so few when he had planned on more than that poor number.

The nurse was looking at him with concern, eyes turning serious and trying to get him to look up. When he did, hers widened and gasped out.

"You didn't know, did you?" she asked, and when Roxas shook his head, she pulled him into a hug. Now, Roxas wasn't one for hugs, but he honestly didn't care right now. He was too dazed to do anything else. The woman pulled back and sent a tear running down her face, getting up and quickly exiting the room. Roxas stiffened for a moment, thinking she had left to cry privately, and felt horribly guilty for some reason. He didn't like the idea of making the kind nurse cry. He felt a wave of relief as she came back looking somewhat normal and holding a piece of paper.

"This is the mans number, his name, and tell him that Mary sent you. He should be able to help." She smiled at him sadly, putting it in the side pocket of Sora's bag, before fiddling with the machines around him. When she was satisfied, she patted him on the head gently and said she'd be back a little later to see if he needed anything. He actually felt himself smile when she left. He hadn't expected that.

Sora came in moments later, holding a cup of coffee and humming a tune to himself idly, eyes kinda distant. When eh looked over at his brother, he smiled and his eyes lit up somewhat.

"Hey, how you doing, Rox?" He asked, sipping his cheap hospital coffee. He blanched at the taste, set it down, and looked over at the blonde.

"I'm… okay. I think ill get through it." He stayed silent as Sora nodded, happy with his answer. When he tried to speak again, he felt a lump in his throat and a tight not in his chest. "So… I'm—" he tried to say, but his brother silenced him with a hand up.

"I know. Lets work on getting you better, hm? After all, we have work to do, and stuff to plan, and things to buy, and places to decorate, and- OhMyGod, ISMELLSTARBUCKS!" he suddenly yelled, and dashed out the door so fast that Roxas hadn't even noticed him gone until he skipped back into the room, holding a steaming cup of Star Bucks coffee. Kairi rounded the corner with Namine, holding cups of their own and laughing as Sora downed his cup with greed.

"Thought you might need that, after all, hospital coffee does indeed suck." The wine haired girl laughed, followed quietly by a chuckling Namine. The pale blonde looked over at Roxas as Kairi tried to nab Sora's coffee, and when their eyes met, a moment occurred.

This was one of those moments that occur rarely and randomly, sometimes many times in ones life, sometimes never at all. This moment was that of an understanding, a moment of insight into someone that told you a deep, dark secret few knew of. In that moment, Roxas knew that Namine could understand his problem, fully appreciate the pain he was going through. In this moment that made time almost stop, he understood something remarkable that filled him with a sense of awe.

Namine understood because it happened to her too.

He noticed several things as she looked at him. Her eyes flashed down to his arms, and then his eyes, somewhat disturbed but not the least bit surprised. Her delicate hands pushed the sleeves of her rolled up jacket back down over her pale, flawless skin… but as he looked, the skin on her own arms was not as flawless as he previously thought. There were lines running over her arm, disappearing one by one as she slid her jacket over them slowly. She seemed to put up a wall between herself and the others in the room, her eyes going blank and yet filled with an emotion, something to feed to her friends. It was false, the look in her eye and the smile on her lips. Her mask was just as good as his. No one could truly know how she was feeling when she was playing a show like that to the crowd. He would ask her about it later, when they were alone.

Roxas simply nodded to her and looked back just as Sora wrestled his coffee from Kairi and spilled it all over his pants. That surprising event actually made Roxas laugh, along with the others, as Sora tried to wipe off the moisture before it set in. When it did, he screamed and promptly ripped off his pants. Roxas started to cry with hysterics as his brother jumped under the sheets with him, trying to hide his underwear from the girls.

It was a very good distraction, Roxas thought.

* * *

"So… what to do first? The party will have to be postponed… and we have to get the guest quarters set up… hm? What's this?" Sora pulled out the note from the side of his bag, and Roxas quickly took it from him. Sure enough, it was a name and number for some Doctor Squall Leonhart. Roxas had never heard of him before. Sora was still staring at him with an open mouth and widened eyes, awaiting an explanation.

"He's a contact, I wanted to be able to get help, and he's moving here for… mainly the refugees, but the nurse that was taking care of me said he'd have time for me, hopefully." The blonde fell silent as his brother smiled sadly. Sora was glad that his brother was at least making the effort to get help, and as long as he got it, Sora was happy.

"I hope he'll be able to see you… Roxas, you need to get better. And you need to tell me when you're having problems. I will help you with anything… you know that, right?" Sora asked, sounding almost… uncertain? How could he even ask?

"Of course, you know I trust you with everything." _Not everything, you big liar._ His mind said as he smiled. Oh, how he could keep that one thing in the back of his mind from Sora, that one thing that Sora would never guess, never ask about, never really know before it was known. But if he started to think about it, he might give Sora that feeling that tells him everything. So, Roxas just shoved the rattled drawer in his mind closed, and continued to talk about the arrangements for the 'guests'.

* * *

"Okay, I think we went a bit far here, Sora."

They were surrounded by a very well furnished lobby, with warm scents of cinnamon and vanilla floating around. The woods were all light colored, surrounded by recently added hard wood floors, repainted and trimmed walls, with a very large space just ahead of them. The lobby looked like that of a hotel, like the Red Dragon in Traverse Town on the mainland. There was a casual area in the middle, with an actual check in area with mail boxes and keys. Oh, and don't forget the attendant for the guest housing area. He smiled widely and stood up as they entered the spacious area. Oh god, Sora had actually put a new chandelier in.

"Really? I sent the plans and pictures to dad, and he approved of them. It may look expensive, but I pretty much got all this for free. It only cost around twenty three thousand munny." Sora smiled, and then dragged his brother to the front desk. The blonde still couldn't believe that it felt like a hotel when it only held enough room for about five or six families, and only four would be occupied.

"Have you renovated the rooms yet? Because the four empty ones are completely blank." Roxas asked, taking notice of the log in book and very advanced looking computer. Really? Did the check in person- okay, cut that thought off and put in another. Did they even need a check in person, plus equipment? Sora must have seen the look of disbelief on his face, because he went on to explain.

"Well, everything here is for the convenience of the guests, and yes, I know it looks like a hotel. But the rooms will be more personal to the people living in them. Right now, they're all pretty neutral colors, nice carpets, and normal furniture. After the guests arrive, I'm going to ask what they prefer, what they like, various things to get them comfortable and whatnot. And here," Sora exclaimed, getting behind the desk and smiling at the attendant, "is someone to help us with our guests. His name is Hope, and he and his mother live on the smaller residence on the other side of the property. His mother is the very nice lady who helps us clean when it's Sunday. He didn't have a job, and she asked if there was anything available, so… I decided it would be good for organization."

Roxas thought that was nice of Sora, but there were a few questions. "Nice to meet you, Hope. But, don't you have school to attend to first?" Hope simply smiled and nodded. He had a strange dusty white head of hair, with a tan complexion and bright silver-green eyes. He was wearing normal everyday clothes, but they seemed… cleaned up and orderly, as if they were a casual dress up. Roxas recognized that Hope got most of his traits from his mother, looking almost identical to her with the exception of the masculine features.

"Yes sir, but I'm homeschooled and given materials to study on my own. Sora said as long as I help guests first, I could do just about anything I want here. And don't worry, I'm already mostly done with my school work. That's the advantage to being homeschooled, I guess." Hope quickly became silent, blushing after saying so much. Roxas merely smiled and patted him on the back.

"As long as you get your school work done, we're happy to have you on the team." Hope's eyes seemed to brighten significantly as he was praised, and he nodded. Sora, however, called for attention to the new system.

"Hope here has a basic schedule. He works weekdays and Saturdays, during the days, and then has Sundays completely off. I wanted to give him Monday through Thursday, but he said he could work more than that, so I put him on this. He stays here, and the guests can contact him either from their living rooms or kitchens, or they can come down and ask for help. He has a mailing system, notices, and can give them messages and stuff for us. He'll have a log of what they like, check ins and outs in case we need them. He may not have as much to do as an actual hotel check in desk, but hey, appearance and professionalism is nice." Sora beamed, smiling at the boy.

"Well… okay. Welcome aboard, Hope. Now, all we need to do is figure out how much we've spent, and how much more we're spending on the guests." Roxas looked around once more, disturbed thoughts coming to his mind. How did Sora get all this for only a rough sum of twenty three grand?

"Oh, I've already got the numbers figured for that, and before you speak, no, it's not outrageous. I've allotted about twenty grand per family, with a flexible change in case there's more people in it. I know my munny, Rox." The brunette grumped flatly. Roxas had to admit, with all the planning his twin did for parties, he did have to be good with numbers. Seeing him think this, Sora smiled. "See? Even you know I'm not dumb and wasteful. Well, Hope, we're gonna get back to the main house and we're gonna go contact a few people to see who's living with us, okay? We only have about a day or two before school starts, and the families should arrive by then."

"Yes sir!" the boy said, standing back up and bowing his head. Okay, Roxas couldn't put up with that.

"Hope?" the boy looked to him, and his smile faltered at Roxas' frown. "Only bow your head and all that respectable jazz if my father's home, or my mother. While it's just us, think of us as family, heaven knows I've known your mother long enough." The blonde smiled again, making the young attendant return it. Roxas didn't like a strict environment.

Sora then dragged him out of the building, down the path towards their home, and came in through the kitchen. They heard the sounds of friendly yells and squeals as they descended into the basement by the dining room.

Their friends were sitting in a large couch, one of those kinds that circle around and seat maybe fourteen people. They were either playing the shooter game on the large screen TV, or they were watching with horror or hysteria. Roxas knew that Hayner was tearing up the battle field as a small green bomb was thrown into three of the divided four screens. Pence had groaned as his character blew up and died, and Namine growled as she returned fire with a rocket launcher. Kairi was cheering her on as she fell off the cliff from the blast, begging her sister to avenge her. Olette was just trying to cover her eyes at the fake gore, and Roxas couldn't help but laugh. Namine versus Hayner was the way it always ended, and he knew what that meant. Namine had a classic rule. Either she won completely, or she died and took _everyone_ with her. So in effect, Namine never really lost. It was one of the few times she was vicious, and Kairi would always team up with her even if they weren't supposed to.

Kairi and Namine. Sisters, both from the same parents, both completely different and yet the same. One was normally shy, the other normally blunt and social. One was white, the other red. One was a little bit of a goody two shoes, the other a bad-girl-tom-boy. But when it all came down to it, they were pretty similar. They had the same vicious streak when it was awakened, and they were both headstrong. They could both be very kind, and they both loved their friends. Though they were not twins, like Sora and Roxas, they could have been. Their bond was almost as strong as the twins, though not quite.

Back to the game, Hayner was cussing Namine out as she executed a perfect combo. She blew up the vehicle above Hayner's head, sent it crumbling down, and took out her sniper rifle. Since Hayner's shields were up, he didn't die from the explosion, but was sent flying off the edge of the cliff, and would have been able to fly away safely until Namine expertly picked him out of the sky with her previously taken out weapon. Thus, Namine won once more.

"Bitch." The sandy blonde grumbled, throwing his controller down. Namine merely grinned savagely and high fived her sister, both jumping up and celebrating their victory.

"Wow, Namine, you sure do rock at video games. How did you get to be so good at them?" Pence asked, his puzzled face curious. At that though, Roxas wanted to know himself. She always beat everyone else at almost any video game they played, and he wanted to know her secret.

"Oh, I just have a good eye, that's all." She smiled widely, matching her sister as they made peace signs. Pence bought it up and shrugged, muttering about how 'lucky' they were.

"Don't tell him, but we like to play video games a lot. It's a good thing he thinks we're too girly for that stuff, cuz it's always satisfying to see him and Hayner in tears after the fifteenth loss of the night." Kairi whispered to Sora, and the twin couldn't help but giggle a bit at it. You had to love the way the girls could kick ass.

"I'm gonna go get some snacks. You guys figure out more games for us to kick your butts at." Namine called as she brushed past Roxas, grabbing his hand and discretely pulling him with her.

So it looked like it was time for him to question her.

She silently took him with her, ignoring the new round of laughs downstairs. She deposited him on a barstool not far from the fridge and pantry, and she started to pull out ingredients for a few sandwiches and mixes.

"So, Roxas, how are your arms doing?" she asked politely, glancing up at him with an entirely different mood. She was… not angry, no, more like irritated. And it was most definitely with him. Touché, two could play at that game.

"Oh, they burn a little, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. How about yours? I'm sure you know what its like." His mouth moved into a smile, but his eyes had an accusation in them. He was hoping for Namine to deny it, to act offended and throw something at him. What she did instead made him want to hate her. She pulled up her sleeves and held out her arms to him, pushing them right in front of his face and sighing.

"They're better now that I've stopped doing it. But I should have known you were in a worse boat than I was. What caused your pain?" she asked. Her eyes seemed softer now, but still held a light in them that demanded answers, but not harshly. She wanted to help, and she had just shown him she knew what he had to deal with, to some degree.

"Knives, maybe a razor." He answered dully, shutting down his face and leaving it blank, emotionless. She sighed again, shaking her head.

"No, I meant what caused your blood to fill with pain? You know, what made you want to find release? I assume that that's what it feels like to you, yes?' he nodded, but didn't clarify. "Roxas, I've seen and heard a lot. Trust me when I say I know how to help fix this, but I need to know in order to help you." He turned away from her, towards the open back kitchen window and out to sea. His view was blocked a moment later as she dashed around the small kitchen island in front of him, to stare him straight in the face. "Rox… I want to help, you just gotta let me in that maze in your head."

He gulped, pondering that thought. Let her in? He never let anyone in. People who tried got lost and never found their way to the middle. Only Sora knew the way, and that's because Roxas personally guided him through it. There were no secrets between his brother and himself. Well, maybe just _one_. But even though he liked his friends quite a lot, maybe even loved them _in a way_, he could never love them enough to truly let them in.

"I can't. I'm sorry Nam, but I can't." they both sighed. Namine seemed to wilt before him, shaking her head and pulling back.

"If you keep it inside, it will kill you Roxas. I don't know how long you've had to deal with it, but I know that much at least. I had to go through it for years before I was able to get help. I'm assuming from the numerous scars, that you too have had a rough life. I know I'm not Sora… but please, let me help you in some way!" she begged. Stomping her feet in emphasis. She was getting close to tears, and that made Roxas feel so much worse about not telling her.

"Maybe… maybe later Nam. Right now, I just need to get better and avoid the subject." he fell silent for a moment, and then reached into his pocket. He took out his black and white checkered wallet and pulled out the note from the nurse. "I'm getting help from this guy when he comes in the upcoming week. I'll have to wait, most likely, while he deals with his patients from Hollow Bastion, but I can do that in peace. I never have breakdowns so soon after one."

He could tell, as she bit her lip and looked at the name, that she was only slightly appeased. She wanted to help personally, make sure for herself that he would get better. He sighed, put his wallet away, and continued where she left off on one of the sandwiches. She went to stand right next to him, and doing one of the only things she could think of, gave him a gentle hug.

"Alright… just remember, if you ever need help, and Sora isn't there… you _can_ come to me Roxas. You know that, right?" she looked into his deep, nearly endless blue eyes. He nodded back into her almost violet ones.

"Um… I know I have absolutely no right to ask, but…." He paused, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"Never mind, it was a stupid thought." He berated himself inwardly. He shouldn't ask about something that personal when he couldn't even return the favor. It was private and a sacred secret, ones emotions. Some decided to show theirs, but others decided to keep the secrets close to heart. Namine, realizing what he was asking, paused, and set everything down. She took a seat in one of the barstools, and sighed heavily. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke, sandwiches and snacks forgotten.

"My best friend, Xion… she was killed on the mainland when we went to visit one of her aunts. We were at the apartment with her, and she asked if one of us would go get some milk from the convenience store a few blocks away. I said… I said I was too tired to move, and of course I wasn't. Xion… she laughed and said she'd go get it, but… her last words to me were…" Namine stopped, placing a hand over her heart, as if to make sure it was still there. She had adopted the emotionless mask that Roxas had on most of the time.

"What?" he heard himself ask before he could stop himself.

"She said… that one day, I was going to get her killed. She had joked about how she might get mugged or… or raped on the way there, and I had laughed and said, 'yeah, and my names Ansem'. Stupid, stupid me…." She spat out, her self anger becoming evident.

_Please don't cry_, his mind begged. One of the few things that could get him all worried and anxious was Namine crying, and he only saw it a few times. But she didn't, surprising him and heaving a breath.

"I beat myself up over it, quite literally, for years. I would cut myself, thinking I had too much pain in my veins to handle it anymore, that I needed to let it out before it consumed me in a rage. I blamed myself for her death, I kept thinking about how I was supposed to be the one to go out and get that stupid bottle of milk. I would constantly think of her, never letting myself be at peace, always seeking punishment for what I did to her. But eventually, my self destructiveness became apparent to my sister, and… she helped me a lot through it." She looked over at Roxas, smiling softly. "I've let Xion go, Roxas. She never meant for me to be suicidal over her death, and there was no way we could have known. So, I got counselors, help from my family, and I made new friends, including a very hyper brunette boy and his somewhat inactive blonde twin." She ruffled his hair gently, and took the bowls of mix with her towards the door. As she got to the entrance, she looked back. "Sora doesn't know anything about my issue, and Kairi thinks that you slipped while dealing with the knife drawer. Sora made convincing evidence. So, please, don't tell Sora about me, and Kairi will never need to know about you, if you choose not to let her know."

"Thanks… and Nam?" he pulled up next to her, carrying a sandwich tray.

"Hm?" she responded, switching her gaze back to him. Her legs had already started to carry her down the steps.

"Thank you… for helping." He smiled, one of his genuine Roxas smiles. She laughed.

"Anytime, you big doofus. Now, let's get back down there before the cat calls start up again, shall we?" she gave him a small peck on the cheek before descending into the room below.

He felt somewhat sad when he could say with complete certainty that he didn't feel a thing when she kissed him. Or when he let anyone else kiss him. Not that he didn't know how to go through the motions, not that it didn't feel 'nice', but he just didn't feel a spark, didn't feel happy doing it. It felt like just another lie to perform for the audience in his theatre.

He pushed his thoughts aside and descended down the stairs after her, smiling in spite of himself. He could hear them arguing on what game to play next, and vaguely heard some game called Dissidia mentioned. Then a whole new uproar started, just as he was about to enter the room. He laughed along with what he heard, opened the door with a flourish, and set the plate on the table quickly before dashing away. When he looked back, half of the sandwiches were gone and in the hands of his friends, two of them in his brother's.

"What? You guys took forever, and I'm hungry! Oh, by the way, nice sandwiches." His brother smiled, flashing his teeth. How did they manage to stay so damn sparkly even when he was eating?

"Roxas, tell Pence he's being an idiot, and that Dissidia is _not_ on the PS3, its on the PSP." Hayner grumbled through a mouthful of snack mix. Roxas sighed.

"Normally, you'd be right, but I got the version for the PS3 specially, since my father sells them most of the materials to make pretty much everything that's needed for the games." He explained, and went to the game case beside Pence. He took out the copy and tossed it to Hayner. "Feast your eyes, go ahead and play. It's a little different, but its not too bad."

"DUDE!"

"Woooooow…"

"Hayner, I challenge my Terra versus your Lion Guy!" Namine exclaimed, just about tossing all the food into the air in her haste to turn on the PS3 and grab the game. Hayner smiled ruthlessly and laughed.

"Your on, Blondie."

* * *

"NO!" Hayner exclaimed, his hands flying to his hair in horror. Namine was dancing, almost exactly like her Terra character was in the game. She had beaten him with a dynamic Limit, and had punished him without absolutely any remorse. Kairi was giggling madly as the entire beating unfolded.

"Hayner, I don't know why you set yourself up for this punishment. You should know by now that she's only going to kick your skinny blonde behind." Olette sighed, smiling and frowning at the same time. She was preoccupying herself with cleaning up the snack mix and wiping off the table. She was, if anything, the group's mother. And like all good mothers, she tried her best to keep her 'children', so to speak, in line.

"Don't tell him that. If he actually listens to you, then Nam will start to target _us_ instead, and I'd rather not lose to her. She plays like a fiend." Sora pouted, sucking on a straw to his root beer. The sisters only looked over and giggled together, almost worrying their friends. Before anyone else could comment, however, the phone in the kitchen went off, and Sora saw the name 'Kingdom Hearts Government' flash on the television. Roxas got up and immediately headed upstairs. Sora asked everyone to stay down there while they took care of the call.

When they both got to the phone, they turned on the screen and settled into the barstools in front of it. Before them was a normal looking representative from the KH government, and the title 'Relocation Specialist' was displayed on his desk.

"Is this the home of one Charles Cross?" the man asked politely. Roxas already disliked him.

"Yes, it is. How may we help you?" Sora responded, knowing his brothers temperament with government officials.

"Is your father home, young man?" the man asked, still polite, but with a sudden, almost condescending smile on his face. Sora's face crumpled down a bit, and he knew what Roxas was about to do, so he just moved off to the side, out of the range of the screen. Roxas put on a sarcastic smile and gazed at the man with cold eyes.

"No, my father is not home at the moment, and in fact is rarely at home. If you had wished to bother him about whatever matter you wanted to discuss, you should have already known to contact him at his office. However, if you even knew _of_ my father, you would know that disturbing him without great need is probably one of the worst ways to get on his bad side, and then get fired days later through his connections within your branch of the government. Now, from this I can gather many things. One, you don't know my father at all, and have only vaguely heard of him without having any dealings with the man, and two, that you have never even heard of me. So, this leads to one point and one point only. I know who I am, who the hell are _you_ to be inquiring for my father?" Roxas was harsh and quiet at the same time as he delivered his cold, angry speech. Like his father, he had a quiet madness about him when he was angered, and nothing angered him more than snotty politicians. Another thing he inherited from his father.

The man was taken aback for a moment, unbelieving that a mere 'child' had told him off. He started to get red in the face, and his previous smile had turned into a scowl.

"Now listen to me, young man, I will not be told off like some common urchin off of the street. Furthermore, what I need to discuss with your father is none of your-"

"Oh, but it _is_ my business. Now, before I, nor anyone else for that matter, has to hear from you again in this office, tell me who you are, and then what it is you decided to bother us for at eight thirty at night. I am rather curious as to what could be so important. I wouldn't have a clue based on your job description, and I'm rather sad that our taxes are paying the salary of a completely unnecessary role." That shut the man up for a moment, before he blushed deeper and looked back at Roxas with cold eyes. When Roxas more than matched it, he somewhat shrunk back and gulped. Roxas was determined to be the bigger dog here.

"I… I was to address the concerns facing us about housing for a number of refugees, and if funding could be given by one of wealth like your father as an investment to our restoration program. I was sent a notice that your home, or something of the like on your property, could house up to four or so families?" the mans voice was dry, and he gulped under the grounding stare that Roxas had fixed him with. He hadn't even blinked during the entire call.

"You fool, my brother sent that notice. My father is already setting up a fund for the restoration, and he has left my brother, the one you met earlier, in charge of the housing section. He was expecting a call or message with details as to who would be staying with us, and he's already set out a budget, available space, and has contacted a therapist for the refugees we are housing. Also, my father is far too busy with everything going on to be interrupted by anyone other than King Mickey himself, or someone only _one_ step below him. Do your research before you set up a call to their home residence. If you, or anyone from your branch who doesn't know the rules, requires anything… then they need to know to contact me, not my father. Go ahead, call him at this number," Roxas sent him his father's number with an almost evil smile, "But don't be surprised when you don't have a job the next day."

The man, truly frightened, mumbled an apology and swiftly sent over the documents on the refugees and letters concerning the ongoing war. Afterwards, he apologized again, and without so much as a quick good evening, he left. Sora came back in and smiled, knowing Roxas had thoroughly enjoyed thrashing the man verbally.

"So, did he go bye-bye in peace? Or is dad gonna get mad at us later?" he asked, opening the fridge and grabbing a piece of cake out. He set it down in front of them both and pulled two forks out, handing one to Roxas. The blonde smiled deviously as he swooped down and took the first bite.

"I sent him packing with his tail and his pride inbetween his legs. He won't bother dad, and we got the info without much trouble." He smiled, and they both giggled a bit before enjoying their little snack.

"So, should we send them home soon? We might want to get familiar with the profiles tonight." Sora smiled, eyes turning hazy. The blonde knew he was daydreaming of who the new arrivals would be, and what they would be like.

"Yeah, let's send them home." He agreed, leaving the last bite of cake for his brother. The brunette smiled and picked it up before setting the dishes in the sink. He couldn't help but dream who the knew people would be, and if he could possibly make a few friends.

* * *

Family One: Bevel.

Reno Bevel, Axel Bevel, Sasha Bevel.

Family Two: Price

Carol Price, Demyx Price, Luxford Price, Zexion Beck, Larxene Collins

Family Three: Remnant

Jenova Remnant, Sephiroth Remnant, Kadaj Remnant, Loz Remnant, Yazoo Remnant, Riku Remnant.

Family Four: Komizu

Rose Komizu, Marluxia Komizu, Cloud Strife

Family Five: Highwind

Cid Higwind, Clare Highwind, Yuffie Kisagari, Vincent Valentine

"Wow, that's a lot of people. I'm glad I added more space in the plans." Sora muttered, immediately alerting Roxas.

"What plans?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh yeah, I had a crew come in and break down all the walls, formatting them into smaller, easily manageable rooms. Before, I'm sure they would have been too big for these families, and then I realized there would be friends sticking together with other friend. See here? It says the family name is Price, but there two other people with them with different last names. And after them, there's a whole bunch more. Soo, I'm assuming that means these singular people have no family left." Sora's eyes started to water a little, feeling deeply for the peoples plight. Roxas didn't want his brother to start on the first of many trading tears, so he quickly looked for a distraction.

"Hey, here's a few other profiling on them…. Here, go through it. I'll go make sure I have the schedule right for tomorrow to pick them up." Roxas hastily shoved the pictures of various people under Sora's eyes, and felt a wave of relief when Sora started to go through them.

He turned his attention to the computer files and set up a schedule to take the families to the complex. He overviewed who had how many, and what rooms would be best suited for them. He arranged their housing, and then ordered cars for the morning. After all the basic work had been done, he went back and looked over at his brother. It had been about an hour since he had shoved the pictures under his nose.

He was sleeping peacefully, just as eh always did when he was too exhausted to keep planning whatever he was planning at the time. Roxas went over to him and moved him in a more comfortable position, then retrieved a blanket from the couch downstairs to drape over his twins shoulders. As he did so, a picture had been blown off the table and landed at his feet. He picked it up and as he set it down, observed the face on it.

The man had bright, vibrant red hair, and eyes so acidic green that they seemed to glow, even in the picture. He had two tattoos, one tears drops beneath both of his eyes each. His hair was spiky and falling behind him, long and drastically in need of a cut. He wasn't smiling, wasn't really expressing himself, but beneath that was a kind of amusement in the person, whoever it was, taking his picture. He was laid back and honestly, he looked _really_ cool.

Axel Bevel. Roxas felt a tingle in his fingers as he read the name, and for some unknown reason, felt nervous about tomorrow. He sighed, pushed at the feeling until it went away, and decided to take up a stool next to his brother and sleep at the kitchen counter that night too. He slid in under the massive blanket, and his last departing thoughts were of a lightly smirking, red headed man who had amazing green eyes.

* * *

**Well, thank you all! Please, review and tell me what you think. I feed off of reviews, the more I have, the more inclined I am to continue it!**

**Oh, and though there are a few generic characters, I try to use all the game characters I can. Again, final fantasy is fair game for me too. If you don't know who I'm talking about when it comes to final fantasy 13, then it won't really be held against you, just maybe a bit confusing when there are certain events similar to those in the game itself.**

**So, reviews=love, so love me please!**


	4. Demonic Angel

**Disclaimer: **Well… I still don't own Kingdom Hearts… Oh, just shut up, stop laughing, and read, damnit!

**Warning: **Eh, not anything too bad, just a bit of meanness on the part of our most favorite bitch- **LARXENE**! DUH DUH DUH DUUUUH!

**Note: **I'd like to Thank you again, one of my favorite readers,themusicalmuffin, and some new readers, akurokuXsorikuLover and Kaito16! I appreciate the love you show me by reviewing! I hope you all like the chapter! Oh, and another note, if I spell things with a weird U in it out of nowhere, like, colour, or flavour, its because I'm used to British writing, so, sorry chaps, but this is sometimes found in my chapters. And no, I'm not actually British, I'm Canadian.

* * *

Okay, let's start off by saying this… Roxas was pissed.

Not his usual behavior in the morning, to be sure. Sora was looking at him anxiously and doing his best not to intrude. The blonde would get into moods occasionally, but all it took to set him off this morning was the wrong type of coffee given to him when they ordered it earlier that morning. He asked for black, they added cream and sugar. And then he threw a cold, glaring fit where he threatened the establishment. And Sora quickly made excuses for him the moment Roxas had stormed out of the shop. It happened occasionally, normally at the coffee place, but of course, they had seen it all already. Some people were just not morning people whatsoever, and if something went wrong too early, then they were off like a bomb squad.

"I'm sorry… I just did not have a good night." Roxas sighed, looking over at his twin apologetically. Sora smiled tiredly.

"It's okay… though you _did_ decide to sleep on a barstool next to me, so that might not have helped." The brunette lifted one of his eyebrows sardonically, almost demanding an answer. He knew it wasn't from sleeping on a barstool, but he was letting Roxas have a chance at revealing the real problem.

"Just had a bad dream, that's all." Roxas tried to ignore the way his brother paled. _No, Sora, it's not about father, it's about someone you don't know, someone who-_

SCREECH!

"WATCH IT, JACKASS!" he exclaimed as someone swerved in front of him, ignoring the stop sign. He honked his horn for good measure, hoping the little blast of the horn would send hate and misfortune towards the reckless driver. When he looked over to check on Sora, his brother was still pale, but from a different source. The blonde sighed as he patted his brother's hand, gripping the seats so hard that they looked about ready to tear, and continued to drive at a much slower pace.

"Well, now that you've had your anger released, and I've had the crap scared out of me, I think we can continue with our day and hope that picking up our guests goes _just_ as smoothly." The brown haired boy muttered sarcastically, relaxing his death grip on his seat and looking out the window. Oh, this day was starting out just peachy.

Driving in his BMW Hommage, a burnt orange colored sports car, was Roxas favorite thing to do when he needed to release his frustration and relax. But now, he felt a little weird driving it. He had already blown up at the coffee shop, what was he supposed to do with it now? Not that it wasn't a sweet ride, but it just didn't have a particular use right now. Sora drove a sensible Volvo, light blue, but he had decided to let Roxas get away with his need for speed.

"So, we have the company already at the airport?" Roxas asked. Sora whipped his head over, eyes wide, mouth open, and then dashed his hand into his pocket and rapidly started to press buttons. A moment passed, and he started to talk frantically.

"Hey! Hello, this is Sora Cross, you know, the one who rented those four travel destination cars?... yeah, those ones. I rented them for this morning, but I forgot to check in to see if they were in the airport already, or if they were on their way… yes, I know it's an hour ride to the airport… you say they're already there?" Sora frowned, a suspicious look on his face. "Why do I get the feeling you're one of the drivers?... you are? And you're already there?... mhm, well, a warning. Though it does normally take us an hour to get there, we're riding our fast car. Do you know what that means?" Sora glared at the phone for a second, before frowning deeper and handing the phone to Roxas. Roxas smile din delight and picked up on the conversation.

"Sir, there's no need to-" the voice on the other end was saying, before Roxas cut him off sharply.

"We'll be there in five minutes. Every five minutes off the scheduled time is a dock off your payment. We expect you to be on time, and by your company policy, you're not on time, we don't pay nearly as much. you have twenty minutes to get there, and I'd make use of it if I were you." He snapped the phone shut, handed it to Sora, and smiled. Sora couldn't be a jerk all the time, and today was one of those times where mean just wasn't in him.

"Thanks, I don't feel it today. You were always better at demanding than I was." He smiled sheepishly, punching his brother lightly in the arm, and flipped his phone back open to call someone else. "I'm calling Hope, just to make sure he's ready today."

"Kay." Roxas pulled into the next lane, getting ready to turn.

"Hey! How ya doin Hope?" he waited a bit, Hope's chatter going on for what seemed like forever. "Oh? Well that wonderful! Yeah, we're almost at the airport, just about ready to pick up the guests as soon as they land. Do you have the place lit and ready? Not yet?... oh, I understand. That's a good idea. Well, we'll let your mom get back to-…. Oh? Wow, okay, I didn't notice when I got up… oh no, its perfectly fine! No, tell her that we really don't mind, she's fine, she's fine!" Sora was making gestures with his hands as he talked, and Roxas noticed something different. Sora was flipping his wrist weird, like it was just a bit sore….

"What's she doing?" he whispered, and Sora mouthed 'cleaning the guest complex!', which made Roxas sigh. Ms. Agito really worked too hard. He held out his hand to Sora, and Sora had the thought, for just a brief moment, that he was going to tell off hope and his mother. The blonde just shook his head and smiled. Politely.

"Hey, hold on, Roxas wants to talk with you- no, he wants to talk to your mom, never mind." He handed it over gingerly, wincing and mouthing, 'be nice'. The blonde simpl nodded and smiled.

"Hello, Ms. Agito. No no, we're doing wonderful." He pulled into the airport parking lot, shutting of the engine and crossing his unoccupied hand under his elbow. He waited a bit, letting the mother tirade just like her child before interrupting. "No, Ms. Agito, we have someone else that will make sure the guest apartments are kept clean. Ma'am, its fine. We just had them redone, so they're completely new and if there _is_ any dust, it can only be a few days old…. No, you just take the rest of the day off. I insist, you have been working far too hard, and though I appreciate it, I worry about your health. Hope will do splendidly, I'm sure, and if you ever want to check on him, you can call his work station and he can tell you himself that everything's fine…. Yes, we're picking them up right now…. Oh! That's a wonderful idea…. Yes, please do. Oh, and tell Xaldin that though its his day off, I'd be ecstatic if he attended as well…. Yes, we only need him for about an hour or so then. Thank you so much, Ms. Agito. Alright, Nora. I hope you'll be well, and I shall see you this afternoon! Thank you, goodbye." He hung up, handed the phone back to Sora, and sighed happily. Ms. Agito had really lightened his mood with her calm personality.

"She had an idea? What was it? I've already thought up everything for this event!" Sora exclaimed, glaring at Roxas with annoyance. Ah, he forgot how his brother could get when he _hadn't_ thought of everything for a party or an event. Sora didn't like it pointed out that he forgot something.

"You have everything down, except introducing the people that help around and work for us in our estate." He looked pointedly at Sora, who blushed and immediately drooped.

"I can't believe I forgot about them…. I'm a terrible person!" he cried out, fisting his hair and looking around frantically. The blonde sighed and hugged his twin briefly, before getting out and walking around the other side. He dragged his brother out and put his arm around his shoulders, and then he headed towards the airport entrance.

It was chaotic. Reporters, news vans, journalists, citizens, pedestrians, and people coming out and in of the airport for a reason were everywhere. Roxas let go of his brother and gripped his hand, sliding through the crowd before the cameras could get sight of him. He hated the press just as much, if not more, than politicians… something he actually _hadn't_ inherited from his father. If they picked up on the fact he was there before he could even get to the terminals, then he'd be asked far too many questions, taking up far too much time.

"Move it, people, c'mon…" he muttered, starting to push past people when sliding became an issue. It was not taken well by a few, and some tried to push him back.

Sora just went along with him, keeping a vice grip on his twins hand and trying to help guide him towards the terminal they were supposed to pick the guests up in. He had spent the morning memorizing faces with names from the pictures sent over, and he was sure he'd spot them as soon as they arrived. He also could get a read for what they might be like, from their expressions in the candid photos.

While Sora was thinking, Roxas was barreling through the crowd, and stopped as he heard his name. at first, he thought it was his brother, and he looked behind his shoulder at the boy. Sora was looking at him confusedly, before looking behind himself and gasping.

"Reporters! Make way for starboard!" Sora almost cried, and started to turn left. Roxas was considering berating his brother, to tell him that port was left, starboard was right, but thought better of it as reporters made their way to the pair. He booked it along with Sora til they managed to blend in with the crowd again, and turned into a side hallway towards there destination.

"I hate reporters." He said flatly as he fixed his hair back in its normal, messy pattern. Sora did the same and they walked along until they came to a crowded terminal.

The only thing they could think was 'oh shit' as they saw dozens of cameras and people with microphones. Roxas, having had enough, just sailed right through them, earning many disgruntled looks until they realized who it was, and then a bickering was heard throughout the crowd. Sora followed swiftly, shaking his arm as someone tried to grab him for a 'quick' question. He sidled right next to his brother, and then started to talk to a security guard about why they were there in the first place, who they were, and who they were waiting for. The man looked at them with a thankful respect, letting them past a bit and holding off the paparazzi.

"Okay, we're looking for Bevel, Price, Remnant, Komizu, and Highwind. There's a total of twenty one people, and that means we can split them between the cars by family evenly... except for one. The cars can only hold four in each… damn. Well, we'll just have to give one of the older kids a ride in our car. Is that okay, Rox?" Sora asked, and his brother nodded. He didn't mind, as long as they were able to get everyone home without problems. The plane had just arrived, so it would probably be ten or so minutes before people came inside.

Sora popped out his phone, ignoring the picture taking and shouted questions from the press behind him. He checked to make sure that the vans were on their way, and satisfied with the answer, he clicked his phone shut and glanced at Roxas. The blonde had gone over to the security guard, and was calmly talking with him. When Sora came up, he heard part of the conversation through the noise.

"We just want to get them to their residence without any problems, and the press is a problem. These people just went through a lot, and I will not tolerate _them_ if they continue to make a nuisance of themselves." Roxas was normal, emotionless looking on the outside, but Sora feared what he might see if he went deeper into his twins mindset. When Roxas was purposefully emotionless, it meant rage was the closest emotion. Normally.

"Well, I can't do much to keep them away by myself. We didn't think this would be such a problem, but… we were wrong. Do you have any ideas on what to do, sir?" the guard asked, polite and actually interested in his opinion. Roxas thought for a second. He went over to the reporters grinned, raised a hand for silence, and when it slowly dwindled down to only a few clicks, he started to speak, while pulling out a phone.

"Hello, everybody. Now, before you start to bombard me with questions, I have but a few favors to ask. I must make a few important calls, and I'd hate for there to be too much noise to hear. Also, when the refugees arrive, I would like you to remove yourself from the premises for them, alright?" he said, loud and clear, and started to dial. When someone up front, from the Traverse Town News Station, asked why he wanted them off, and what he would do if they didn't, he merely smiled brightly and put up a finger signaling that the person he wanted to talk to was on.

"Hello! Grayham! How are you doing? Well? Good. Listen, you have quite a few reporters and newscasters here from _your_ branches, and, well, I'd like you to remove them. Yes, now…. Grayham." Roxas started out nice and friendly, and then turned cold and quiet, still showing a smile, though it seemed to become more chilling to his audience. They didn't utter a word. "Did I _ask_ you to remove them?... I did? No, you see, I recall I _demanded_ that you remove them…. What will I do if you don't? Well, Grayham, for one? Remember Stark? Yeah, that's what I'll do. Yes, that was me. No, I'm not lying. If you want, I can give you his number. Yes, I refer people to him if they ever need evidence of my power…. _Why_ do I want your _leeches_ removed? BECAUSE, GRAYHAM, THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY, AND I'M GETTING ABSOLUTELY SICK OF THE FUCKING PAPARAZZI!" Roxas was still cold and angry, but he was shouting near the end. His apparent rage had a few people clicking pictures, and when he saw the flashes, he glared them down. "Get them out of here before you lose your job, Grayham. _Now_." The last word was filled with so much malice and so much ice, that Grayham muttered a quick 'yes sir', and Roxas heard the phone disconnect. A few seconds later, many members of the audience got their phones out, many ringing, and listened for a moment before looking at shock to the phone, then at Roxas. He smiled, waved, then sneered, and pointed out. All the ones who were called fled.

"Anyone else, want me to call their editor, or boss? I'm more than happy to." he offered with fake cheerfulness, and the cameras and notepads slowly trickled out of the surrounding area, soon flowed by more people from the other terminals around them. Roxas sighed and muttered a shot 'thank god', before turning back to his brother.

Twenty one people stood behind his brother, all looking at him with varying degrees of silence and shock. He paled a bit, smiled sheepishly, and shrugged.

"I don't like the press, they're kinda evil." He commented, laughing nervously before frowning with wide eyes and glancing at his brother, the brunettes eyes bridged in a look of confusion, before realization hit him and he gasped, turned around, and squealed.

"Oh My GOD! I did not see you come in." he said, before clamping his mouth shut and smiling with tight lips. At this, the small crowd started to chuckle lightly, though some of them still looked in Roxas' direction.

"Um, wow. That was… impressive." A girl with short, raven black hair and bright eyes said. The people around her nodded in agreement. Sora seemed to deadpan for a moment, unsure of what to do next, before he finally go tthings in gear and continued on like he had planned earlier in the week.

"Um… well… anyways! Hello! My name is Sora, this is Roxas, and we'll be your hosts!" he smiled widely, clapping his hands together and looking around. "Now, I would very much like to get into introductions at this point, however, there are still a few leeches, freelance most likely, wandering the halls of this charming airport. So, without further ado, I would very much like to get all of your luggage, and then make a swift escape to the vans out front. Each van can seat four people, and since there's more of you than that, one of you will have to ride with us."

"I call it!" the black haired girl piped up.

"Yuffie, darling, you'll be riding with us." A woman with long brown hair said reprovingly. Yuffie sighed, but smiled and shrugged, giving the woman a hug.

"I'm staying with Sasha. Axel, why don't you go with them?" one of the bright red headed men suggested. The other one sighed and nodded, giving the little red headed girl a kiss on the forehead before sidling up to the twins and smirking dryly. It was obvious he wasn't comfortable.

Neither was Roxas. The moment the flaming red head moved to his side, he felt extremely vulnerable. The man honestly looked a hell of a lot more dangerous in person than he did in a photo. His tattoos were more severe, his eyes more acidic. His whole appearance screamed _danger, watch out or you'll get burned!_ He also carried a smugness in his posture, like he knew what he put off and he was proud of it. Roxas smiled automatically, wiping his face clean and putting on his mask for the audience. There was no way he would show fear to this… unknown person. He wouldn't let a stranger get to him. No matter how tall, muscular, and overall imposing he may have seemed….

"Okay! Let's get luggage, and then move to the outside area for departure! Sorry if I sound a lot like those flight attendants!" Sora said loudly, to get everyone's attention. He motioned for everyone to follow, but was stopped by one of the men. He had a long, bright head of silver hair.

"Wait. How do you know you have the right party?" he asked, in a deep, smooth voice. Sora looked at him carefully, then looked at them all. After a brief second to think, he smiled.

"Oh, I know I have the right people. You're Sephiroth Remnant, and all your brothers and you mother are here. I made sure that I could glance you guys at once before I got here. I like to be prepared." He smiled wider, scratching his head and looking around. "Any other questions?"

"How do you recognize us though?" a voice very close to Roxas asked. It was Axel. He was looking at Sora with a frown. Sora was kinda derailed by it.

"Um, they sent us a picture of everyone in the families who would be staying with us. And before you ask where they got the pictures, I don't know, I didn't ask, and I assumed that you all knew what was going on." He stared down Axel, stopping him every time he tried to ask a question. The red head glared. "Look, we came prepared to make this easier. We've… we've had to deal with similar situations."

The refugees were all taken aback, staring at Sora with surprise matched with shock. Roxas frowned, bowing his head. They had to deal with a situation similar, of course, but that wasn't open for discussion. However, a blonde girl with antennae like pieces of hair stepped forward with a glowering expression and seemed intent on getting the story.

"Oh yeah? And what 'situation' could you be referring to? cuz I'm pretty sure that there haven't been any drastic bombings in the past ten years, kiddies." She sneered at them, going forward and poking Sora in the forehead, taunting him. Roxas came forward and smacked her hand back. She opened her mouth in shock and then prepared to slap him. Sora decided to intercede at this point.

"Larxene, Roxas could out bitch you without question, and if you ever meet my father, I would really feel sorry for you." Sora actually looked at her with pity, and it only seemed to make her angrier.

"Oh yeah? Why's that, you little shit?" she snapped, glaring at him.

"If you act bitchy to him, well, he'll bitch right back at you so hard that you'll crawl into the corner and cry your eyes out til you probably faint." She snorted in disbelief, then shot her eyes back to Sora's hand, which was going through his phone, searching for something. He quietly beckoned her forward, and she answered with a haughty cough and swiped it from his hand. She put the ear piece in her ear, watched for a moment, first with a sneer, then started to frown, then gave a shocked gasp. By the end of it she was pale and looking at the screen with a kind of mixed horror, as if she just saw a kitten being run over by a car, which was then run over by a garbage truck, which was then hit by an electrical pole and the whole thing burst into flames. Real life, not cartoon.

"Well? Believe me now?" Sora asked calmly, taking the phone and ear buds from her. She was still in shock for a few seconds, before licking her lips nervously and staring back at the phone, then at Roxas. Sora noticed and added, "Oh, and Roxas is almost as bad when provoked."

"Damn. That was… messed up. What happened to that guy?" she asked, all pretenses down. She was looking at Sora with a kind of curious awe.

"He ended up working at a gas station south of the desert, and when you consider the fact that he worked at a huge law firm, and was CEO before, well… it has significance." The brunette shrugged, and looked back to everyone else. "Good news, though, if you ever meet our father, then he'll be on his best behavior. Now, please, follow me!"

Roxas was silent, realizing that Sora had somehow managed to derail the aggressive girl from her previous question. How did they know of a similar situation, when there hadn't been any major bombings in the past ten years? Well, to put it simply, she was right, there weren't any major bombings. But their problem had nothing to do with large scale attacks, no natural disasters. What they had to deal with was… much worse.

When they got all of the luggage (there wasn't as much as Roxas thought there would be), they headed out towards the vans, splitting off into small groups of four as quickly as they could, avoiding the eyes of many people, and, though it could into be proven, possibly reporters. Axel, having been chosen to ride with them, was dragged by Sora quickly to the car, and Sora, being the two bit, evil son of a bitch he was, let Axel ride shotgun. Though Roxas didn't really think that about his brother, he couldn't help but feel it in the moment. Of course Sora wouldn't know he was uncomfortable with Axel, how could he? He hadn't even let _Sora_ himself know about it when he made his mask for everyone.

"So, are you taking us to a hotel?" Axel asked as he climbed in, glancing around the car warily. Roxas glanced back at his brother. Sora shrugged and shook his head. Okay, so the guests had no idea what they were in for.

"Uh, no. We're going to our home… there's a surprising amount of room there… you'll see. Trust me." Roxas smiled a little, happy to be able to surprise the older red head. Axel looked at him suspiciously, then buckled in and looked out the window.

"So, Axel, how old are you?" Sora asked, leaning forward in his seat and draping his arms on each of the front seats. Roxas glanced in his rearview mirror and coughed out for Sora to sit down and buckle up. The brunette sighed and looked at Axel expectantly as he did so. Roxas knew that Sora already knew it, but the red head would probably benefit, as they would, if they were able to talk instead of knowing everything about him.

"Well, I'm nineteen. How bout you guys?" he was uncomfortable, again, but he seemed to be getting more relaxed as time and road went by.

"We're both sixteen. Our birthdays coming up soon, though." Sora commented. He grabbed his phone and started texting at rapid speed to his friends, to tell them that they had just picked up the guests. "Hey, Nam has already picked up her guest, and Hayner got his too. Apparently, Hayner's guest is named Tidus, and Nam's is named Selphie."

"Do you know them?" Roxas asked, seeing the somewhat relaxed expression on the red heads face. Axel nodded.

"I'm glad they made it out. It would be a sad thing if those guys were gone… they're a very cheerful couple. They always seem to bring the sun with them where ever they go." He sighed, looking out the window. He tried to turn the topic back to them. "So, you said your birthdays are both coming up son? Are you twins?"

"Yeah. If you wanna get really technical, I'm older by thirteen minutes. I was born before the sun started to set, and Roxas was born at twilight. Everyone says it reflected on us. Me, I'm bright and sunny." Sora smiled. He certainly _did_ seem sunny at the moment.

"Meanwhile, with me, I'm just black and white, and sad like the end of a good day." Roxas snorted, turning down another section. The remark made Axel look at him for a second, before he turned back to look out the window. He started to notice a change in the scenery, and he looked more carefully. They were moving towards the wealthier homes.

"Um, what did you say your last name was again?" he asked, anxiety tinting his voice. The twins looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Cross." They said at once, shrugging in the same manner. Axel thought for a moment, tilting his head to the side, but after a few minutes had passed by, he just shrugged his head and muttered something about it sounding familiar, but he couldn't remember where from.

"Hm… hey, question." He said suddenly, ten minutes away from the boys' home. The red head was still gazing at the neighborhood, watching the pricey homes flash by, seeing the expensive cars and well dressed people.

"We just might have an answer. If not, we can always just find out for you." Sora said thoughtfully, looking at Axel and waiting for him to speak.

"You never answered Larxene's question. What did you guys have to go through that was so similar to this? If it wasn't a bombing, I can't imagine what it would be." Axel said lightly, curiosity coating his voice. Roxas felt a strange shiver go down his spine, refusing to let him forget. He saw Sora's face go pale behind him, shaking his head back and forth slowly.

"_That_ incident… well, it wasn't pretty. We… tried our best to forget it. But we still had to house a few families, though _we_ personally didn't arrange it, our father actually did that time. I was too young to plan efficiently then." Sora gulped, trying to swallow past the large lump in his throat. They really didn't want to get into it, and now both the twins thought it was stupid of Sora to say anything.

"Just…. It's hard to explain, and it was mostly a family matter, okay? I… we don't like talking about it. I'm sorry if it seems unfair, but it was really bad, and kept kinda hush hush for a reason." Roxas looked over at Axel, noticing the way his lips pouted into a disappointed, maybe even annoyed look. "We don't want to annoy you and keep things from you on purpose, but everyone has their secrets."

"True enough." Axel replied through a frown.

Sora sighed at first, noticing his guests unhappiness, but that was short lived as he realized they were almost home. They had arrived at the gate ahead of the other vans, and Roxas got out smoothly to the gate and typed away at a screen hidden in the brick. Axel watched curiously, pondering on what the blonde could possibly be doing, before the truth smacked him full on in the face.

"You guys live _here_?" he exclaimed, turning around to Sora in disbelief. All Sora could manage was a nod, unusually calm and collected for the brunette.

"We have a housing section on our property that was available, and we wanted to do our part. You'll be able to enter your apartment that you will be sharing with your family after everything's settled, introduced and done with. You'll have your stuff dropped off at your apartment, you'll be able to rest, then you'll meet the staff on our property, have a quick tour, and then we'll have dinner, hopefully, together. The last one isn't necessary, but… I'd like to get to know the people that will be around us for a bit." Sora was looking away, sadness tinting his gaze. Axel had no idea what to make of it other than to nod and smile appreciatively.

"You guys really want to help us, don't you?" He asked softly. Sora looked up, nodded, and sighed.

"People think we do these kinds of things to get attention, to have fame, but they don't know shit. That's something our father might do, and though he did have to approve of this, we were the ones that genuinely wanted to help. Roxas, he's good at speaking to dad in business terms, and… well, thanks to him, you guys were able to come here with us. He was determined enough to help you that he risked a lot from dad…." Sora slipped quiet as Roxas joined the car again, tasting the new air with confusion. He had no clue why the two passengers were suddenly so sullen.

"What's wrong?" he asked, glaring lightly at Axel. The red head returned it with a somewhat hostile, yet somehow nice smirk.

"Thanks for this, Shorty. We'll never forget what you guys are doing for us." He said the name mockingly, but the rest of it was sincere to the core. Roxas was taken aback by that, murmured 'you're welcome', before realizing what Axel had called him.

"Don't call me Shorty." He said flatly, earning a dry, warm chuckle from Axel, and Sora laughed before realizing it applied to him to.

"Hey! If he's short, I'm short, cuz we're both the same height!" he sputtered indignantly, waving his arms in the air to show he was _not_ amused. Axel only laughed harder.

"Well, what do you propose I call you?" Axel asked the blonde, eyebrow hitched and smirk in place. Something in that look made Roxas feel insecure, almost… vulnerable. He pushed aside the feeling to glare at the man briefly.

"How bout my name, to begin with?"

"Aw, that's so boring. How about Roxy?" the devious smirk grew larger as Roxas fumed, face blushing in a tide of embarrassment.

"No." he hissed, looking at Axel with one of his grumpiest looks yet. Was it just him, or did he not seem to faze the spiky headed freak? And wait a minute; did he just think that Axel was a spiky headed freak?

"Roxy it is then." He laughed, cutting off in a choking gasp as they came up to a spectacular complex that looked exactly like a hotel, with the shrubbery and brick walls. The windows themselves looked far too fancy, and they hadn't even been inside yet. Well, Axel hadn't been inside yet.

"I thought you guys said you weren't taking us to a hotel?" he asked, annoyance flashing over his features. Sora glanced at him, a small pout settling on his own face.

"Uh, yeah, this isn't a hotel. This is our guest apartments. There's like, what, seven homes in this one? The other one was turned into a variety facility after we realized we wouldn't be using all that much space, and we never thought we'd need it to house other people that weren't from our family. We redid the inside since it hasn't been used in so long, and after you guys get somewhat settled in, you can pick colors for your bedrooms, which we've left blank for a reason. The family rooms are yours to touch up with personal feels. As long as you don't destroy the place, we're cool with whatever adjustments are needed." Sora explained, stopping in front of the double doors and awaiting the entourage of vans that were headed their way. The white vans gleamed in the brilliant island sun, pulling up in front of the building and stopping neatly apart from each other. Axel, meanwhile, was still staring at the building with a surprised look on his face.

"Um, okay, we're at a hotel?" a boy with silver hair asked, looking up at the front for a sign or name. There was none. Two more silver haired boys came up next to him, remarkably the same and yet so different.

"Nope. This is our guest housing." Roxas said, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed the home system and waited for it to load. "Nora? Yes, the guests have arrived…. Yes, we're bringing them in as I speak, and we'll get them settled in enough for about an hour or so. Thank you so much! Hehe, see you in a little bit."

"You guys live _here_?" a pink haired girl said…. Though when Roxas looked at her, she seemed a little off to him. He was about to comment when Sora elbowed him harshly and hissed into his ear.

"No, you dumbass, that's not a girl, it's a _boy_. His name is Marluxia, and I'm pretty sure he thinks he's perfectly normal looking. So, do _not_ comment." Sora smiled wider for everyone, and answered the question. "No, we live over there in the main structure. Originally, there were two guest housing areas, but about five years ago it was realized that one of them was all that was necessary, so we tore down one for them and made it into a multi interest building. The staff are normally the only ones that use it, since they live right next to it and have free access, but you all can use the facilities as well. I'll explain more on that later. _This_ particular building houses seven families, and, since two are already prepared for various family visits, the remaining five have been renovated for your use. The bedrooms are mostly blank and white, and once you get settled in a bit, you can decide what makes you more comfortable. We can do pretty much anything you want with the place."

"Why go through all that trouble for us?" a quite looking… man? Yes, he seemed a little older than the others. He had black hair tied back in a ponytail, and red eyes. He was probably originally from Shinra, before the war flattened the country to a wasteland.

"Why not do the best we possibly could?" Sora countered, setting his mouth stubbornly, like he refused to hear no for an answer. A brown haired woman next to the man smiled, and stepped forward.

"We thank you for your generosity and hospitality, we really do, but… we're not used to this. And… where we're from, people with…." She paused, unable to find the right words, opening and closing her mouth in an attempt to sound them out.

"People with money, where you're from, don't really like to use it on people with not much money. Does that sum up what you're trying to say?" Roxas asked. He wasn't rude, he wasn't accusing, just sounded monotone. Sora wasn't sure whether or not he was angry at the woman or something else. when the woman nodded, wincing delicately, a blonde man stepped forward.

"Now, we aint trying to make no accusations or nuthin, but we just aint used to it." He drawled around a cigarette on the corner of his lips. he was very defensive over the woman.

"I can tell you why, then. And of course not, I know she meant no harm." Roxas flashed a small smile at her before turning expressionless again. Everyone was out now, and awaiting his answer in silence. "The reason why we're doing this is because, one, we like to help people. We happen to be closely connected to quite a few people over in Hollow Bastion, and we felt the loss. We, like every single one of our friends, wanted to help without hesitation. And two? Well, lets just say it's a personal mission of ours." His eyes flashed dangerously at no one in particular, and then he shook his head. "Enough questions for now. You'll have them all answered eventually, but right now, I know some of you," he glanced over at the little red headed girl in Reno's arms, "Are a little tired from your trip. So, why don't we get you inside and let these kind gentlemen take your luggage inside? You can relax for a bit, but then, unfortunately, my brother here as plans for all of you."

"Shut up Roxas, you make me sound like a despicable fiend from a cartoon show." The brunette huffed, shunning the blonde. A few people around them laughed, and they started to trickle in.

"Whoa."

"Oh my…."

"Well, aint this purty?"

"Axel, look! It's a pretty angel!"

Everyone was taken aback from what was inside, just as Roxas was when he first entered. Though, the young blonde couldn't quite recall seeing a stone statue of an angel in the entry way last time. Must have been Sora's final touch, something he always liked to do. Angels were his thing. Roxas? Roxas preferred devils. Not because of morality or anything, just because he liked the dark stuff. Back to the people, though. They were staring around them in either awe or appreciation, and it made Sora beam. He raised a hand for everyone to follow him to the front desk. There was a murmur as they stood in front of it, and Sora was looking around worriedly.

"Hope? Hope!" he called, looking back on the desk and reaching over. Roxas came to stand by him, seeing the white haired boy gone.

"Where'd he go?" he asked, and read the note that Sora found over his shoulder.

"_I'm extremely sorry, but my mom demanded my presence getting the facility cleaned up. She said that was probably the best place to meet the staff, and that she'd take all responsibility for my absence. I unlocked all the doors for you, and I have the keys in the top drawer, password is 'Agito'. Again, sorry! Sincerely, Hope._" sora muttered to himself, and sighed. He just shrugged and put the note in his pocket, got behind the desk, and took out the keys after entering the pass phrase. Roxas took the liberty of explaining to the guests.

"Okay, well, here is a help desk in case any of you need anything, and the person working it, Hope, will normally be stationed here. He's away helping his mother with something over at the Interest Facility. His mother, Nora Agito, is one of our most trusted and treasured employees. She been with our family ever since she was a little girl, and so were her mother and grandmother. If there's ever anything you need help with, and are not too sure who to ask, she is without question the best person to go to." he came back around the desk, holding the keys with a name on each and passing them out to the people in the family. "Now, these are for your respective apartments, one family to each. They all have kitchens, family room, at least three bathrooms, and at least three bedrooms, though there are more in the ones needed. We don't have many rules, but there are a few tiny ones, just to make sure dad doesn't get itchy about stuff. Please don't destroy anything recklessly, please be safe, careful who you bring home, and… uh…" he looked to Roxas, not knowing how to say the last bit.

"If our parents ever show up… just know that they're entirely different from us, and they have very high standards. Our mother is sophisticated and kinda high and mighty, while our father is a cool, calculating businessman. I was able to make sure, without a doubt, that you all would be able to stay here, but he sees this not as a way of just helping, but also a way to get good public points. It's wrong, I know, and I'm sorry, but our parents are the kind of people you might have had back in the Bastion. And they _will_ demand respect. They're known to be ruthless to enemies, so please don't become one." Roxas looked over to Sora, and then back at the crowd. "Oh, and every Sunday, we have a big meal up at the main building with our friends and staff. We don't require you be there, but you are more than welcome. Tonight, we would very much, however, like your attendance so our staff doesn't try to kick you out later on, if they mistake you for an intruder. This is our 'get to know each other' dinner."

"And I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we're very happy to be here." A woman with silver hair, surrounded by what could only be her children, said. She smiled serenely.

"Alright! Well, please, feel free to get into sweats or something comfortable. We never really stand on ceremony unless the parents are home, so get comfortable, and in about an hour, we'll call everyone down to get a tour of the property. Okay, well, welcome to Twilight Town!" Sora exclaimed, and then smiled at everyone as they went up the stairs, chatting excitedly. Only one family decided to stay behind from all the rest, sitting on a couch and talking.

"Sasha, sweetie, I know you want to go home, but honey, we talked about this…" Reno, the older one, was saying, trying to calm down the crying girl. The little red head was crying delicately, not in the annoying restaurant baby way. Axel was holding her in his lap, stroking her hair in attempt to help. She was just shaking her head.

"But I want my Snuggle Mog! And he's not here!" she cried, tears flowing down her face steadily. Sora was gazing at her pitifully, wanting to help, but not sure what he should do. Sora was a hopeless pushover when it came to adorable children.

Roxas was just staring at the little girl, face as blank as a sheet of paper, taking in the scene in front of him. Sora looked over, tried to see what was the matter with Roxas, before the blonde walked slowly over to the little girl and knelt down on his knees, eye level. The little girl slowed her sobs down and looked at him with wide, jade eyes.

"Now, what seems to be the matter here?" he asked kindly, smiling softly and looking at her with concerned eyes. She sniffled a little bit and hiccupped.

"My Mog isn't here… and my hair ribbons gone too!" she sniffled, wiping at her eyes. Axel was looking at Roxas, eyebrows slanted and a frown on his face.

"Her room was destroyed in the blast, so she her doll… you know." He muttered, not wanting to get the girl going again. Reno sighed. Roxas pursed his lips, thinking for a moment, and then smiled after a thought came by.

"Well, now, I can't get you your Mog back, or your pretty hair ribbon, but, if you come by in an hour or so, I'll give you a special present. Does that sound okay?" he asked, and the girl looked at him, before smiling a bit. She nodded, and Roxas smiled again. "Good. I think you'll like it."

She smiled a little wider, tears forgotten, and crawled over to Reno. He picked her up, smiled gratefully at Roxas, and then headed up the stairs. Axel, however, stayed behind. He looked on guard, kind of edgy.

"Thanks." He said carefully, eyeing the blonde critically.

"No problem… I remember that stage. She five years old?" Roxas said, smiling at the memories.

"Yeah…. You have a little cousin or something?" Axel asked, just as Sora came up alongside his brother. Sora's eyes widened at Axel first, before flicking to Roxas. The blonde didn't miss a beat.

"Or something. Well, see you in a little bit." He walked off, without saying anything else, and left the two standing in the lobby. Sora winced as the door shut a little too loudly behind him. Axel looked confused.

"What did he mean, or something?" he asked, gazing towards the door. Sora sighed, and then shook his head a bit before following after.

"Please don't ask… it's… not so good. Just don't ask him, or me, about it please." And with that, he was out the door, leaving a confused and annoyed Axel standing alone.

* * *

"Hello everybo- Whoa, okay, why are you all fancified?" Sora said cheerfully, until he took in every ones appearance. Everyone, instead of getting 'comfortable', had put on dresses and semi formal clothing on. Well, everyone except for the Bevel family. As everyone looked around at each other, a few murmurs of 'I told you sos' went around, and a lot of the guys were loosening their clothes and unbuttoning the top buttons.

"It's alright, Sora, just deal with it." Roxas said, chuckling a little at his brothers defeated expression.

"Fine. Okay people, I think its best to get acquainted, no? So, Lets have a few seats, shall we?" everyone went to the middle of the area and took a chair, piece of couch, or the floor, and all of them faced Sora. "Okay, well, introductions… I'm Sora Cross, and… I like to plan the perfect parties! You can start off with just saying your name, where you stand in the family, age, and something about yourself. Anything! Roxas?"

"I'm Roxas Cross, and yes, we're twins." The blonde said clearly, sitting back to where his brother was. They were in the exact same pose without meaning to be, and the entire room noticed. After giggles had been done and gone, Sora looked to his left and nodded to the black haired girl. She smiled and stood up.

"Hi! My names Yuffie Kisaragi, I'm sixteen years old, Cid here is my adopt-a-daddy, and I'm a ninja!" she smiled happily. She had short black hair and sparkling blue eyes. The man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and red eyes moved forward. He looked rather pale, and he seemed to have a thing for red, as that was all he was wearing, black and red suit.

"I'm Vincent Valentine, I am seventeen years old, I have been taken in by Mr. Highwind and his wife, and I… am not sure what to tell you. Oh, yes, I know I look older than I am." He bowed slightly, and retreated back behind Yuffie's chair.

"I'm Cid, simple as that, and my age don't me didly squat toyou. I'm senior to all ya, so just deal with it. Clare here's m' wife, and I like to tinker with machine, ay?" The man with blonde, thinning hair said. He had dressed up, but he was seen in a grease stained shirt upon arrival. He still had his customary cigarette, but it was unlit in his mouth. His wife smiled and stepped forward slightly. She had glasses, long brown hair, and was wearing a simple dress.

"Hello, my name is Clare Highwind, I am forty two years old, and I am a scientist, mainly retired and working on my own projects. Don't worry, nothing too horrible, just a bit of mechanics here and there." She gazed lovingly at her husband, who smiled and wrapped his arms around her. It was very touching to see, a gruff man holding a fragile woman gently….

A woman with vibrant pink hair stepped forward, smiling grey eyes and a stunning dress on. "Hello! My name is Rose Komizu, I don't want you to know how old I am, and I am Marly's mother! Oh, and I have a green thumb!" she smiled, bringing forward her 'son'. Roxas still wasn't sure he was a boy, judging from the pink hair, long eyelashes, girlish lips, and facial structure. Hey, even his body frame was girlish, with protruding hip bones and a strange upper torso.

"Hello, I'm Marluxia Komizu, I am seventeen, I'm her son, and… Yes, I _am_ in fact a BOY." He turned sharply to glare at Axel, who had been staring with a strange look on his face, almost as if he had Roxas' same thoughts. The blonde laughed silently and shook his head, just as Axel looked forward. Roxas mouthed 'I thought he was a girl, too', and Axel smirked, nodded, and shook his head laughing.

"I'm Cloud Strife, eighteen, I'm staying with Ms. Komizu, and my parents are somewhere in the southern edges of Shinra." An aloof, spiky blonde said quietly, after everyone glanced at him. He said it shortly and to a point. Everyone looked to the silver haired family, and they all stood up. The woman spoke first. She had long, flowing silver hair, and sparkling green eyes. Her frame was long and strangely thin.

"I am Jenova Remnant, I am the mother, my age of course is unimportant, and I like to design clothing. If you ever need fashion advice, I am of course available." She smiled peacefully, and it felt awkward, as if you were at peace and yet disturbed by her lilting, sharp voice. The tallest of the boys spoke next, long silver hair draping down his back. He had to be much older than the others, and he had cat like green-blue eyes, pale features, and was… serene yet powerful. His presence was always notable.

"I am Sephiroth Remnant, I am twenty five years old, I am the oldest of my brothers, and I trained under Shinra's Soldier, First Class. I am currently unemployed, but I will, in the near future, be applying to the army." He was calm, and his voice had a sweet edge to it. Three of the remaining boys stood up, and one with average, shoulder length hair came forward.

"I'm Kadaj, this is Loz, and Yazoo. We're triplets, all eighteen, and we're going to join the military as well." The one with the shortest hair nodded at Loz, and the one with the longer of the three's hair was Yazoo. They all looked to Sephiroth for approval, and he nodded calmly. They had a gleam of admiration in their eyes that, or so it seemed, the last boy did not share. His hair fell partially past his shoulder, and his eyes were the same as all of his families, blue-green with catlike qualities.

"My name is Riku Remnant, I am seventeen years old, I am the youngest, and I have a thing for surfing and struggle tournaments. I, however, do _not_ want to join the military." He looked indifferently at his brothers, the triplets giving him glares, and Sephiroth smiling.

"You choose your own path, little brother. All I ask is that you do your best in whatever drives you." He smiled, and then smacked the back of Kadaj's head to get him to stop. Then everyone moved to the next family.

"Hello, my name is Carol Price, and I am the mother of the family. I am thirty nine years old, and I love music and cooking." The woman had a dull blonde head, with bright blue eyes and a motherly face and frame. She looked to the two boys beside her, one with a Mullet/Mohawk hairstyle and the same colors as his mother, and the other with a strange blue-purple hair, cutting down in front of one of his eyes. The visible one shone purple, and both their mouths were thin and sad. "Oh, and this one here is my son, Demyx. He's eighteen, and he loves to make music. And this is Zexion Beck, also eighteen, and He loves to write poetry." She sat back down and patted their knees warmly, and they both smiled in thanks. Roxas made note to make sure Sora left them alone, because he knew his brother could be pushy when it came to trying to make people feel better. He could already sense the squirming beside him to give them a hug.

"I'm Larxene Collins, I'm seventeen, my parents got eaten by marshmallow people, and I'd just _love_ it if someone pissed me off. I like to give a good ass kicking before dinner." She smiled sarcastically, taking out a pocket knife and using it to clean out her nails. Overall, she looked like a pretty girl, but her mean temper seemed to make her out to be boyish. After that, everyone turned to the red headed family. Reno got up.

"I'm Reno, I'm twenty nine, and I'm the big brother of the group. I like to mix drinks for a living, cuz its what I do best!" he smiled widely, shrugged, and earned a little clapping from a few of the people. He picked Sasha up in his arms and let her speak. Her red hair hugn down to ringlets on her shoulders, and her jade eyes looked around, searching for something.

"Where's the angel?" she asked Reno loudly. Reno cocked his head, and pointed over to the entrance, but she shook her head and pouted. "No, the angel that said he wanted to give me a present?"

Axel's eyes widened, glanced over at Roxas, who, blushing like a school girl and trying to hide himself, got up regardless and came forward. People watched with curiosity as he pulled a box off of the side table and brought it forward, smiling gently. He was no angel, but the girl's remark had set off reactions amongst the guests. The silver haired triplets were laughing, while the oldest and youngest simply watched and smiled. The mothers, all of them, were looking at Roxas with adoration, and the men were chuckling lightly. Larxene just sneered and said in a whiny voice 'where's my angel with my present? Bleeeee~'.

Reno was smiling, thanking Roxas with his eyes, and Sasha clapped cutely as he handed over her present.

"Here you go, Sasha. I hope you like it." He said, watching her get down and open it on the floor. She gasped and giggled, eyes gleaming bright as she picked up her present.

It was a small, stuffed 'Shadow Bug', one of the cutesy ones with big yellow eyes, antenna and body sagging a little for easy carrying. Inside were also three hair ribbons, made from silk, one purple with lace, one pink, and one white with black stripes. She picked up the purple one and held it out to Reno to put in her hair. She was, coincidentally enough, wearing a violet dress. When Reno put it in, it matched perfectly.

"Thank you, angel!" she exclaimed, hugging him around the knees and snuggling before letting go and crawling onto Reno's lap. Roxas was smiling, glad he could make the girl feel better and happy, until he felt a pair of eyes stare into his head with intensity. He looked up to see Axel gazing at him carefully, and his smile melted to a blank expression, looking at him. Axel smiled, and began to speak as he ran his fingers through his spiky red locks.

"Hey everybody, you just met my baby sis Sasha, who is five years old, and really likes stuffed animals and hair ribbons. My name is Axel Bevel, I'm twenty years old, and I absolutely _love_ me some blondes. Know any good ones, Roxy?" He smirked like a bad boy and gazed at Roxas, acidic green eyes meeting a deep, ocean blue. Nobody else in the room seemed to notice he was looking at Roxas, and all the blonde did in return was gulp unnoticeably and blush even harder.

* * *

**Yay! Okay, sorry for the people whom I promised this would be done sooner. FFNet was being evil, and so was my cold, which si now gone! Anyways, please review! Tell me what you thought! I live off of reviews, and without them, I lose inspiration to write! Oh, and I was considering making the ending different, but hey, why not give you a little something to warm Roxy up? Hehe, reviews, dun dunna duuuuuuun! Oh, and I misspelled Yuffie's name in the last chapter, but guess what? I didn't even know her last name when I typed that! I was two letters off! How fuckin cool is that~!**


	5. A Discussion on Family

**Disclaimer**: News just in. I _still_ don't own Kingdom Hearts… That is all.

**Warnings**: Um…. Pedophiles? No, not literally, but… yeah, the event about them actually happened in ym class, so, you've been warned. (its kinda funny, not really pedophiles.)

**Notes**: Thanks again, my usual readers! Reviews have been muchly appreciated, and now that I have a handful, it's time for new chappy. Oh, and since I'm still iffy on what I want to do with all these people… lets keep it a surprise, M'kay? Oh… and I'm sorry my updating sucks something terrible. My computer had indigestion… and life started to suck. But here is to life not sucking anymore~!

Oh, and a 'lit' is a cigarette, a Pupu and a moogle are dolls from final fantasy, and Shinra people all have a variation of silver hair, black hair, bright green/blue eyes, or red eyes.

* * *

Roxas didn't know why he was blushing so hard, but he jabbed a glare at the redhead. It apparently never reached his face, because he could still feel his mouth open and his eyes wide. He was, however, grateful for Larxene more than he'd ever thought he'd be.

"How bout over here, handsome? I swear I don't bite… Much." She purred, dropping the tomboy posture and stretching herself out luxuriously across the couch. She had a husky tone that implied exactly what she _did_ intend to do, and as Roxas turned to stare at her with shock, she seemed to wink at him.

Axel, however, was unfazed. "Sorry, but I'll have to decline. I happen to know who you've got your claws on, and I can't say I wanna end up like that. Sorry." He pouted, smirking with a knowing look. Larxene just laughed.

"Whatever you say… _Lea_." She called teasingly, and Roxas saw the red heads mouth drop open.

"You-" he paused and slid his hands over Sasha's ears. She looked up briefly, shrugged, and continued to play with her doll. Once she had gone back to ignoring them, Axel glared heatedly at the offending blonde, a retort on his lips. "You bitch, how the hell do you even remember something from way back then?"

"Because, it happened to tickle my fancy, and I don't forget the good times." She smiled evilly at this, and went back to cleaning her nails, which seemed to put an effective stop to the short argument.

"Bitch. They weren't all that good to me." He cursed, then released Sasha from his hands. He looked around, paused as he got to Demyx's family, and frowned. "Hey, where's Luxord? I know he came with you guys."

The mother looked behind her, went on alert, then snapped back to Roxas.

"You didn't put alcohol in the refrigerator upstairs, did you?" she asked. When Roxas looked to Sora, he paused and shrugged.

"I don't think so, but our staff may have put a bottle of welcome wine in there. Why?" Sora asked. Gears clicked for a second before he gasped. "Luxord's not an alcoholic, is he?"

"Well, when he's stressed he uses it, but otherwise no… ugh, pardon me, I have to retrieve my idiot son. Be good babies." She kissed the tops of Demyx's and Zexion's heads before turning and heading back up the stairs. While they waited, everyone turned to each other and chatted. Axel turned to Roxas, and Sora went over to the abandoned boys.

"So, dinner… please tell me its not prim and proper, cuz to be honest, we eat like pigs… well, Reno and I do. Sasha somehow got manners, but we don't know where from." The fire head chuckled, smiling easily at Roxas. Roxas couldn't help but feel lighter when the man smiled. It made him a little easier to talk to, instead of the serious and dangerous look the red head adopted most of the time.

"No, trust me, we eat like pigs too… well, Sora does, but I at least try to use a fork. No fifteen forks, spoons and knives over here." Roxas flashed a smile towards him, and Axel smiled back.

"Good. So, are you guys going back to school soon?"

"Well, I think we go back tomorrow, but I have a feeling that Principal Xehanort will just give us another week. He himself has a couple of guests at his home, and I got a message today saying that he still hadn't figured everything out." Sometimes, having a father who was powerful came in handy.

"The principal talks to you?" Axel looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah… sometimes, having power has its responsibilities. Though, it does have its benefits from time to time… still, since father is never around, I have to keep connections here and there open. The principal is one of the most powerful people in the Destiny Isles." The blonde frowned. He didn't like to talk about the family business and expectations, but Axel really _did_ seem curious.

"So, is he a dick? I heard he shares the college campus too." The look on his face showed exactly how much he thought of that. Roxas, however, didn't like the accusation.

"He has money and power, yes, and he's also very strict to students to keep up their best in school, but he is actually one of the most caring men on the Island. He'll tell you if you're screwing up, and then he'll take you aside and guide you through what you are doing wrong. Once he gets that fixed, he points you in the best possible direction. Without him, well, we'd still be a small town island." The blonde was a little flustered after his quick retort. Roxas couldn't stand stereotypes, mainly because they were pointed at him all the time. Axel seemed to catch wind of that.

"Well, I'm glad he's cool. I can't wait to start my semester." He smirked, raised his eyebrows, and looked over at Sora. He froze, and poked Roxas in the side. "Dude, I think your brother is molesting that blue haired kid over there."

Roxas gaped, looked in the direction Axel was pointing, and felt his eyes go wide. The quiet blonde kid, Demyx, and his brother were tickling the crap out Zexion. Demyx' hair was in his face and the boy was actually smiling a little, eyes twinkling bright blue. Zexion was laughing silently, not even making a sound except for rustling along the floor, and he kept trying to cover his head and his stomach. Sora just sat back and laughed after a bit. Everyone in the room was watching them, and when Mrs. Price came down the stairs with a blonde man in tow, she started to smile broadly too. The man, however hazy he appeared, smiled back and spoke clearly.

"Oi, what _are_ you lot doing on the ground? C'mon, get up before I get Zexion here a little revenge." He smiled broadly, getting down and tickling Demyx. The dirty blonde laughed aloud, struggling about and trying to get free. When he laughed, however, everyone in the room turned and stared. His voice was beautiful, clear and pitched. It sounded almost like music, but no strings or piano could copy the melody. Roxas couldn't help but smile as it reached his ears, and everyone, even the serious silver haired triplets, started to show it affected them too.

"C'mon, Luxord, leave him alone. I think we've gotten ample revenge on the twit." Zexion chuckled, a light, studious voice. He rearranged himself with precise movements and settled back up into his seat, looking for all the world as if he didn't just have the crap tickled out of him.

The sandy blonde on the floor slowed his laughter, wiping his eyes and sitting up. Luxord plopped down next to him and put his arm around the boy, ruffling his hair gently. Demyx leaned in and whispered something into his ear, which the platinum blonde shook his head to. Luxord looked around, noticed all the people, and smiled broadly, flashing perfectly white teeth.

"I believe I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Luxord Price, and I'm the older brother. I love to gamble, and I'm a master at cards." He flashed a wide set of perfect teeth. "So, what are we doing now?"

Everyone looked to the hosts, and Sora stood up. "Well, now that we are all acquainted… Roxas?"

"Lets head over to the recreation facility, shall we? Might as well get that out of the way. Dinner should be ready after we're done. This way, please." As he stood, everyone followed suit, and little Sasha jumped out of Reno's lap and went over to hold Roxas' and Axel's hands'. The blonde, though surprised, didn't resist. Axel raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Okay, the facility was huge.

"Um…. Well… I forgot how big this place is. We don't necessarily use it… well, except for the gym." Sora, frowned, moving around the wide, open entryway. "Okay, now, the gym is to the right, and it has equipment, a racquetball, a struggle ring, a blitz ball practice arena, and then just a pool and hoops. The left side is where we really need to tour."

Everyone, aside from small comments and gasps, stayed silent as the twins walked them through the facility. Roxas stayed silent as Sora explained all the rooms. The three game rooms all had different setups, one videogames, one for pool tables, and another a hang out and play board games area. There was a staff room that the guests were told not to enter unless they needed to find something, and then there was storage upstairs, next to a music room, a large balcony area for good summer night parties, and a small library. The blonde took into account that different guests reacted upon which room they entered.

Roxas noticed, however, that not everyone was happy. Sephiroth and Vincent were a little edgy….

"You guys okay?" he asked as he pulled them aside. They glanced at each other briefly before shrugging.

"It feels like a Shinra research lab… a part of the country I'm glad was destroyed." Vincent said in his deep, quiet voice. Sephiroth nodded.

"When I was training for Soldier, 1st Class, I was put through hell every day, not in training, but in the buildings where they would mess with my Mako levels and drive me insane. I hated that place more than anything… and the architectural design in this building seems far too similar to be a coincidence." The silverette shook his head, glancing around. Roxas sighed.

"My father planned out everything on this area… and he took the designs from my grandfather's. My grandfather built Shinra its labs and trainings facilities. These designs are just tweaked a bit." He gestured around the hall. "I don't like the set up, so I normally just avoid this area and leave it to the staff and guests to make homey. I agree, labs are… not fun."

They both nodded in response, and Vincent whisked himself away quietly, ghosting behind Yuffie. She seemed to be the only one who noticed, as she turned around and greeted him with a chipper hello. Everyone else jumped and flinched. The blonde decided to take a mental note; _Vincent is very, very sneaky... and Yuffie has ninja senses._ Just as he was about to rejoin the group, however, Sephiroth caught hold of his shoulder and spoke.

"Your brother…." He started, looked at the spiky brunette, and shrugged.

"My brother what?" the blonde asked suspiciously.

"He seems a very kind and caring person… keep him away from my brothers, please. The triplets, they have… minimal manners, and Riku is not handling the situation well. All his friends died in the bombing, so he'll want to stay in solitude for a bit. I just want you to give ample warning to your brother, so Riku doesn't hurt him. I'd hate to see something happen…." He said with a low voice. He truly did seem sincere.

"I'll tell him, but I can't make promises. If I know my brother, it will just make him try harder." He paused, blinked and reconsidered. "In fact, I'll just leave out that Riku lost his friends. That would just motivate him more."

"Thank you." And with that, the tour continued.

* * *

"Okay everyone, the guests are already on the floor above us. We are Loyal, efficient, and Xaldin? Please, please try to smile. Hope, a little straighter please. Lexaeus? ... You're fine. Cait? Please, put the doll away. Now." Nora ordered her men, inspecting them in line. She had expected a little better of the staff. Hope's silver lackluster white hair was hopeless, but he was otherwise fine. Xaldin had decided against dressing up for it, and wore his workout clothing. His braided hair was piled up behind him in a wad, with a few ropes hanging in front. His sideburns were a little too severe today, but she didn't have time to shave him off. Lexaeus was the only truly presentable one, although he always wore an expression of doom. Cait… well, Cait was another thing entirely. Short black hair sleeked back and impeccable white suit, he looked like a waiter from the forties. However, the clip on doll on his arm brought the entire ensemble down in flames. At the age of twenty five, he was still a child.

"But Ms. Agito-" He started to complain, but she cut him off with a hand.

"Fine, look like a fool." She grumped, and glared when he looked far too happy at the concept. Having inspected the men, she went to the women.

The girls had the day off, but they graciously came in anyways. A free dinner up at the house was always welcome, and the bonus was sure to be good. Yuna, who took care of the gardening, had decided to wear her emergency waitress outfit and was smiling serenely in line next to her friends. She had plain brown hair that fell to her shoulders, and one green eye and one blue. Paine, a silver haired girl with red eyes like Vincent, had come from Shinra after its destruction. She was a quiet girl, but she did her duties quickly and with remarkable skill. She was the main chef, and was known for her dry and blunt speech. The only two left were the assistants, Rikku and Tifa.

Rikku had somewhat long blonde hair, put up in a ponytail, and spiral green eyes. Being Al Bhed, she was also the Technician for the estate, and she was assigned to Roxas should he need anything. Her small frame and youth didn't hint at the intellect and strength she possessed, and she was also hired for her martial arts skill. She never had to use them, but they were there. She aided the rich blonde with his projects and managing the estate in the absence of his father. Tifa, on the other hand, was hired to keep Sora busy and to keep him happy, though the latter was not requested by the employer. She was a motherly figure who was, like Rikku, able to keep him safe and intelligent enough to know what goes on. She aided him with his financial upbringing, and handled much of the number crunching and deals, much like a casino host. She had long brown hair and wide brown eyes, and… curves. Also meant to keep Sora's attention. They did nothing in the slightest.

They were both standing loosely, holding their phones and texting viciously. Nora coughed a little, and they startled, both going defensive.

"I was just making sure the error report was sent-"

"I wanted to see if we could get ahead for the improvements for the guests-"

"Enough. You're both fine. But please, they'll be here any second. Smiles in place, poise, and looked like you've been waiting for a few minutes, not seconds." And with that, she turned and placed her hands behind her, smiling and watching the descent of the group through the stairs, headed towards them. Cait gulped.

"Um, ma'am? Please don't tell me we're cleaning up after… all… those… people." He twitched, clutching his doll and wrenching it behind him, forcing a smile. Nora nodded in affirmation and approval, barely glancing at the young man. All attention was focused on the lord of the house, so to speak. Roxas smiled openly, coming forward and receiving a hug.

"Thank you for getting everybody, Nora. And thank you all for coming. I know it was your day off, but I appreciate the dedication. And yes, Paine, it's casual." He smiled, addressing Paine as she opened her mouth to ask. She huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Thank god. If you had wanted a fancy five course, I would have just laughed in your face and thrown my apron to Rikku." She slacked her stance, smiling ruefully.

"What? Why me?" the little blonde whined, dashing over to Roxas. "You wouldn't make me do that all by myself, right? I only know how to cook macaroni!"

Everyone present laughed, and Rikku pouted. Roxas chuckled lightly before calling back attention.

"Okay everybody, this is our staff. Rikku is my assistant and our Technician, so if there's ever an electrical problem, come seek her out. On her days off, she's normally in the Rec facility, but if not, just leave a message for her with Hope. Tifa is Sora's assistant, but unless you need financial help, she can't really do much for you. Oh, if you need any of the staff, page Hope or put them into the terminal all around the buildings. You each have one in your apartments, in the lobby is Hope, and in the Rec rooms and the mansion. Now, Yuna is the Gardener, and handles all landscaping and does tailoring on the side. Paine is the head chef, and only the head chef. Most of our staff can cook, so if anyone needs help, you can ask them, but if you want to learn and are unable to yourself, then ask her. Oh, and don't give her lip, she's been here long enough to get away with biting your heads off." He smiled, and she waved and grinned, winking at the crowd.

"Now, all of you should have heard of Hope. He is the main conduit for you guys to anyone on the staff, and he's been assigned to help take care of you all. If you need something, send a message down to the lobby in your building, and he'll respond most of the time. He has Sundays off, so please be mindful of that. Lexaeus is one of our multi task staff members, and don't be offended, he's really nice, but quiet. Xaldin is our personal trainer, but he's normally always available for coaching. Don't go into it half cocked, though, or he'll rip you to pieces. You work out with him, you bring what you got. The gym here is free to use, so go ahead and take advantage of it. Cait Sith, our other multi task members, is one of our more sociable. If you need help with something, he's your go to guy. You can normally find him cleaning something on one of the property buildings. Just follow the Elvis and Elton mixes, and there he will be." He looked around, smiled and went to Nora. "And this wonderful lady right here is our Head of Staff, and she manages our rabble of people, Sora and I included, and is always willing to help. Do you have anything else to add?"

"Well, I'd offer my services for daycare, but there seems to be a lack of little children… however, I can take care of your little girl should you need a baby sitter." She aimed at Reno, who was bouncing little Sasha in his arms.

"Oh, uhm… thank you. It's just, we don't have-" Nora cut him off.

"Free of charge. I love taking care of kids."

Reno looked instantly relived, and Axel smiled. "Thank you very much."

Nora nodded, smiled, and continued. "As I said, I love to take care of kids, I can normally help you work out something in your homework, any level, and if somebody is sick, then tell Hope and I'll get what they need, even a doctor if I must. If Yuna is unavailable, I can help fix up clothes or help you look for them. I handle many orders and shipments, and I'll always know when Mr. and Mrs. Come in for a visit. We apologize, but when they do, we will work like demons and make sure everything's perfect. Please, treat the staff with respect and the Cross' with even more, and everything will be fine. Oh, and Roxas?"

"Hm?"

"Your father sent over a few men. They will be available after dinner to speak with, but they are currently unloading their possessions in their rooms. One of them lives with us, and the other two lives in the mansion, per Mr. Cross' orders. Thought you might like to know why two… worn men are now inside the main home." She frowned, nodded, and then snapped her fingers, quickly dispersing all of the staff, save Rikku, Tifa, and Paine. The red eyed woman stepped forward.

"What should I make tonight, sir? I have a few things in mind, but there are quite a few to feed." She paused, and then looked back at the retreating figures. "YO! Lex! Cait! Get over here!"

The two men stepped forward and awaited command. Nora laughed and stepped forward as well.

"Okay, any requests?" Paine turned back to the blonde, and when he shrugged, she smiled. "Alright then, let's make surprises people. Nora, you do whatever you want, just don't hog too much space, Lex, you handle meat and fish. Cait, you will handle sides and garnish. I'll take main course duty and dessert. We're doing casual dress here, people, so make a lot, make it good, and make it look deceptively fancy. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Let's get to it." And with that, all the staff had left. Roxas turned back to his guests.

"Okay people, Let's go over to our place."

* * *

Roxas was drinking his root beer, minding his own business, when a flash of red in the mirror caught his eye and a tiny little body slammed into his leg. He started to fall.

"Whoa!" as the blonde was about to hit the floor, something else caught him and steadied him in seconds. Bright, flittering green eyes looked up and down at him. His automatic gulp confirmed who it was.

"Sorry about that, she said she wanted to say hi, not take you down." The red head laughed, picking the little girl up. She giggled and reached out towards Roxas, playing with his sleeve. Axel frowned. "Sasha, stop it, he's not a toy."

"Oh, I don't mind." The blonde laughed, taking a swig of his drink. "I'm used to it."

"Oh. Well in that case, attack, Sasha, attack!" he whispered, letting her down and watching as she automatically grabbed the blonde's hand. After that, she just watched the two. They looked at her quizzically, then at each other. "Eh, she's a little weird."

"It's okay. Don't let him tell you you're weird, though, cuz when you grow up, you'll be more mature then he will. It's a fact; girls are more grown up then guys."

"Well, now, hold on just a minute, I'm mature." Axel huffed, crossing his arms. Roxas laughed.

"Of course you are, of course you are…. Did you want a drink?"

"Sure."

Roxas led him to the back of the living room, which was probably the largest room in the Mansion. Everyone was scattered, small groups here and there. The Remnant family stayed together, speaking in low tones, smiling slightly. Well, everyone but Riku. Reno was talking technique with Luxord, showing him how to spin a bottle with more flourish. Sora was busy speaking politely with Demyx and Zexion, and Marluxia was talking with Larxene, who was balancing a very strange looking pin on her fingers. Everyone else was mingling in-between.

"You have a nice house." Axel commented as the blonde got him a soda.

"Well, it is what it is. It's large, it's expensive, and sometimes it can be a little much. But hey, we got our own little family here. The staff has been with us forever and ever, either their parents worked here, or they were hired when we were roughly twelve." He handed the drink to Axel, took a sip of his own and sighed. The red head picked up on it.

"Parents never home, I take it?" he asked.

"Nope. The only thing that could get them here is press coverage and if one of us was expecting something dreadful in the health department." He shrugged, "Oh well, it's not like we actually need them around. Dad's busy, Mom's busy, we're all busy in some way. Who needs parents?"

Axel grimaced in sympathy, and they both made small talk for the rest of the time. Axel liked some of the same bands he did, and they both liked art to a degree. Sasha was ever on the fringe of their conversations, reminding them to hold back on the language and remarks. They both seemed to have the same views of politicians and the press, and when provoked, were a force to be reckoned with. By the time dinner was ready, they had learned quite a bit about each other. Roxas took a seat near the end, and Axel ended up sitting on his right. Sora sat on his left, right next to Riku. Roxas would have said something if the silverette had been quiet and glaring, but instead he was smiling and listening to some wild story of Sora's.

"You would not _believe_ the size of the trampoline we rented. I thought I had ordered one big enough for Roxas and me, but no, it was big enough for _everyone_ in our third period! And then when…" and so it went on. Riku laughed when it was funny, and actually spoke up when he wanted an answer. Roxas didn't hear what he said, but it must have been colorful, cuz he had Sora blushing in a minute and spluttering excuses. The blonde's attention, however, was captured by Axel again.

"Is your brother always so social?" he raised an eyebrow at the spiky brunette, who was flailing his arms around like he was drowning. Roxas laughed.

"Sora is our school social butterfly. Nerds worship him, girls love him, jocks think he's cool, and cheerleaders keep trying to date him. Trust me; he's got everybody as a friend. The only person that doesn't like him is…. Well, that's not important." He smiled. "Sora gets his share of fan mail too."

"Fan mail?" and when Axel repeated those small, two words, Sora stiffened, cranked his head around, and was put on immediate alarm.

"Don't tell me they finally started to drop things off at the front! OH MY GOD, they've become STALKERS!" he freaked, grabbed at his hair and looked around crazily. "Where? Where is the stupid, girly smelly pink letter?"

"No no, Sora, there aren't any here; I was just telling Axel that we got them sometimes, and that they annoyed us. Its okay, no stalkers." Roxas reassured him. Sora frowned at him for a second, then smiled brightly and launched into something else.

"So, along the lines of stalkers, one time, this girl in class, Kairi, big friend of ours, was texting to one of her friends, and her friend had apparently said that every time she was in Mr. Jacobson's class, she felt like she was being watched. Well, all of us were minding our business when someone screamed 'OHMYGOD, PEDOPHILES!', and everyone basically fell out of their seats, me included. Everyone looked around, and Kairi noticed all the noise from the chairs. And then, she gets a look so guilty and dumbfounded that it puts Roxas' face to shame when he found out girls didn't have a penis-" Sora said.

"Sora!" the blonde hissed.

"Yeah yeah, hold on a minute. Anyways, well, she squeaked and asked 'Oh, did I say that out loud?', and everyone was like, 'yeah, you did'. Apparently, she had typed that and said what she was thinking out loud, but her friend just burst through the door and smacked her arm, saying 'Damn Kairi, tell the whole fucking world'. It was hilarious." Sora, and everyone in the vicinity, was laughing. Roxas was chuckling a bit by the end, but was brought back to embarrassment when Axel whispered in his ear.

"So, you didn't know girls had no pee pees?" he was holding back mirthless laughter, that much Roxas could tell. The blonde smacked him on the arm, which was surprisingly warm, and glared away for a second, before responding, "It's not my fault Sora isn't a girl, or else I would have known."

And with that comment, Axel spewed what he was drinking all over his pants.

"Wow, that's… lovely." He sighed, grabbing his napkin and chuckling lightly as he dabbed away at the offending stain. Roxas laughed a little with him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I'd get that response. Didn't know I was just that hilarious, I guess." He smiled, tipping his drink and taking a swig. More would have been said had a bell not sounded in the distance. All the guests looked up with mild confusion, but all the residents of the house smiled.

"Ooh, Paine decided to get fancy." Sora giggled, nudging Riku and looking pointedly at the wall. Everyone, noticing the expecting eyes, turned and stared in confusion. "Look really hard and just keep staring."

There was nothing out of the ordinary with the wall. It was made up of the same panels as most of the halls and rooms in the mansion, but the guests stared never the less.

* * *

"This is gonna be hilarious~!" Cait twittered, repositioning his little Pupu doll on his arm and lining up the carts.

"I want to make a lasting impression." Paine said simply, a glimmer in her red eyes and a small, barely noticeable smile gracing her lips.

* * *

"I don't get it, what are we- DEAR MOTHER OF GOD!" Yuffie cried out as the light went out and a stage light blinked into existence on the wall. Speakers could be heard turning on, a tiny amount of whispering and feedback sounding before a cough and a test.

"One two, one two, Cait Sith, Awesome~!" and then a smack, followed by a whining protest.

"Ahem. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to divert your attention to the amazing, the insatiable, the completely idiotic and yet entertaining Cait Sith. Get out there doofus." A dull, bored female voice announced. A push and a sliding sound was heard.

Everyone looked around, awaiting the waiter to arrive. All was silent, and the young man didn't appear. Though most were confused, Yuffie got up with a pout and went over to the wall, knocking on it and tapping here and there. With an 'Aha!', she push on one side of the paneling and the servants compartment slid open, revealing….

"An empty hallway? I thought you were a 'ninja'?" Vincent remarked. Yuffie shrugged and peeped along it, but retreated back to her seat when she found nothing. As she sat down, a screech from the speakers rang out and everyone held their ears, curses flew out, and then a squabble was heard.

"I _told_ you, it's on the west side dumbass!" Paine's unmistakably dry and biting tone.

"No, I was sure we had to take a left!" Followed by Cait's whimper.

"Oh, stop it you two, this is not helping. Um… I don't know the code for this door." And there was Nora, ever the voice of reason.

"Well, this _obviously_ is NOT the servant's entrance. You do realize if Mr. Cross had been out there, we would have been fired once we found our way out of this hell hole?"

"I realize that now, yes, but honestly, we've never really had to use these little tunnel systems. And besides, I only use the ones in our facility, not this house." A little scuffling was heard, a small meeping sound, and then a scream.

"OH MY DEAR LORD, IF THAT WAS A RAT I'M SACKING YOU ALL!" Nora's shrill voice screeched, followed by a clang and a crash.

"It's a… my god, is that a toy robot?"

"AHA! That's where it's been all these years!" Sora exclaimed. He shot up out of his seat and went to a terminal unit in the wall. He pulled up the connection open in the house, picked the only one isolated and opened it. The picture presented made everyone in range laugh themselves breathless. Paine was struggling to keep a hold of Nora as she looked around, wild eyed and afraid of the 'mouse' in the hall. Cait was picking up the 'mouse', which was really a constantly moving toy robot, and started to mess with its legs. Lexaeus was standing there calmly, expressionless and waiting dutifully by the cart. Sora, after a few snickers, coughed a bit and they all dropped into positions, a nice, neat line and with varying expressions.

"You guys do know there _is_ a map in the terminal, right?" he giggled, pulled it up and sent them a copy. They looked at it, and then at Paine, who in turn blushed and murmured something about 'stupid computers'.

"We'll be right there sir." Cait announced, closed the connection, and then the audio. Everyone in the dining room was left in silence, awkward and a little fidgety.

Yuffie was the one to break the silence. "So, um, why were they all looking at that Shinra girl weird at the end?"

Roxas and Sora smiled, shook their heads and the blonde explained.

"Paine, though she won't show it, always gets worked up over having presentation absolutely stunning and perfect. She thought she could be sneaky because she heard about the secret staff entrances all over the place, but… computers were never her forte, so to speak." As he finished, his twin snorted and continued.

"Every time something other than a cooking machine beeps, she goes nuts and thinks it's going to blow up. She really hates machines, and she always gets lost in new areas. She refuses to use things she's unfamiliar with." He sighed. "We love her to death, but the last time she got lost was in the middle of a banquet, using the entrances on the east side. We couldn't find her and we were understaffed in the cooking department. Dad was not happy at all. Of course, he was never aware that there _were_ secret servant entrances, so he didn't go ballistic and fire her."

"He can't fire her without pissing off mom, though. Paine is the only person we've encountered that could make every drink known to man within ten seconds. Mom would refuse to let her go while she's staying here every winter." The blonde scoffed. The only person that could rival their father was their mother, and maybe their grandfather, if they could ever actually meet the man in person.

Everyone was chatting for a bit, still awaiting the arrival of dinner, when they heard a small rolling off in the distance. Sora got up, looked down the open hallway, and saw Lexaeus pulling the carts behind him in a poised manner. No one else could be seen behind the quiet giant.

"Lex? Where is everyone else?" the brunette asked. The giant shrugged.

"The food was getting cold, so I took it and left them to squabble. They never asked me if _I_ knew the way here." And with that, he set himself to setting up the dining table, quiet and efficient. Moments later, Paine was rushing down the hallway to help, with Cait struggling to keep up. Nora showed a few seconds later, walking quickly and with purpose.

"I am so very sorry, this place, even after so many years, has its secrets." Nora apologized, assisting as soon as she entered the room. In a few more minutes, everything was set up and the late staff members joined the guests in their seats. Roxas smiled briefly, getting up from his seat and raising his glass.

"To a new future. May tonight be filled with laughter, and tomorrow filled with peace." A murmur went through the table in agreement, a few clinking of glasses, and soon, everyone was filling their plate high with food.

Paine had gone all out in the short time that she had had. Pork, chicken, and shrimp were a part of the main courses. There was tilapia, bread, and fruits out of the wazoo, and the vegetables that were present looking liked they were more than just edible. Spreads of all different types, nuts, fruits, and butters were dotted here and there. Cait's dishes were obvious, most shaped like animals and dolls. Paine's were professional and spoke of her culinary upbringing. She did not beat around the bush. Nora's were more home styled, not meant to be pretty, but meant to look like a mother had just made it and taste even better. Lexaeus' dishes were simple, large, and delicate when one added that he had put edible flowers around his dishes.

"Wow, you guys go all out when you're not going all out, ya know?" Yuffie commented, taking a large bite of fish and swallowing it down with milk. Vincent nodded, a glimmer in his red eyes. Paine had sat down on his other side and was discussing their old homeland. She smirked briefly before shrugging.

"It's what I do for a living. Why not do it the best?" she took a sip of wine and devoured one of the shrimps whole.

"Make a lasting impression, huh?" Roxas chuckled from across the table, and she shot him a glare.

"Hey, Shorty, I cook, you eat, I have heard _no_ complaints so far. You wanna whine, then whine, but if you do, then I will, too. It shouldn't be all that hard to get from point A to point B, but no, there had to be complicated tunnels in your house." She waved her hand at him before resuming her meal. Roxas smiled before devouring everything on his plate. Axel noticed his appetite.

"How can someone your height eat so much?" he asked, dumbfounded. The twins smiled before Roxas replied.

"How can someone your height eat so little?" he raised a brow, grabbing another piece of fish and a pork chop. The red head put his hands up and laughed.

"Oh, I eat a lot, just not unless I've been working out. I'll have to start up again soon, and then we'll see who can get fat first, you or me." Roxas laughed at that, and Sora just shook his head.

"Please, the day Roxas gets fat is the day that Tifa's boobs no longer get stares from the eyes of passing men." Sora laughed, and said woman threw a grape at him with a huff.

"They are _not_ that large, Sora…."

"Yes, they are."

"No, they aren't."

"Uh, yeah."

"Uh, no!"

"Tifa?"

"Yes, you little twerp?"

"I want you to look down."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

After she did, she looked back up at him. "Okay, what was I supposed to see?"

"What _did_ you see?"

"I saw my breasts."

"Well, now, you were _supposed_ to see your knees and the edge of the table, but since you didn't, that means yes, they are that large, and you don't have to be angry about it. They're wonderful assets to have when you need to manipulate men and use their lusty and sex oriented minds to your advantage." He smiled goofily, nodded, and went back to consuming his plate.

"No, Sora, the assets are generally lower on scale. My breasts are on my torso, not my backside." Tifa said logically, just as Sora inhaled an entire piece of bread. Eyes bulging out, he started to choke and Roxas beat him on the back for a few seconds, laughing at his brother's predicament.

"Never argue with Tifa, dude, she always gets the last word in."

"See? Roxas is smart. You should listen to him more often." She exclaimed, and, smiling, she went back to her food. Anyone who was paying attention went back to their own food as well, chuckling lightly at the spiky boy. Sora, with what dignity he had intact, frowned, glanced around, and slid slowly under the table. Roxas frowned as well, and lifted the edge of the cloth to see his twin scuffling along the center, and holding something in his hands.

What it was couldn't be identified until a squeak and a jump from Tifa sounded, and her glare sent under the table. Sora did not return to his seat for a few minutes, and when he did, he did so with a twitch in his eyes. He turned to Roxas and shivered delicately.

"Yeah, I should listen to you more often."

* * *

Later into the evening, everyone had finished off their meals and were all looking around drowsily. Desert had been quite the occasion, featuring a large amount of apple cobbler and homemade vanilla ice cream. As everyone stood up and stressed, the tension of the day was let go, and familiarity set itself into the atmosphere. Roxas was one of the last to get up, and as he did so, he stumbled over a napkin that had fallen to the floor. He reached out to catch himself, and when he looked up at his hand, it was grasping Axel's arm. He let go almost immediately and started to apologize.

"No, it's okay. Just seems that everyone is just about ready to go to bed, huh?" the red head chuckled, running a long hand through his spikes.

"Yeah, it's been an exhausting day alright. After we get you guys back to the apartments, I've got to go see what's up with the new guys. I have a really bad feeling I know who they are." He sighed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Who?"

"The men that just arrived. They're probably security measures. Father gets paranoid when things like… 'this' happen." The blonde waved a hand around, snorting. "He gets overprotective when things don't go the way he planned."

"Security guards won't be able to stop a bomb." Axel replied flatly. Roxas shook his head.

"Spira wouldn't dare bomb this island." The idea was hysterical. The red head didn't think so.

"And why is that?"

"Because my father doesn't have to get government sanction to attack, and if I died, then father would retaliate in full force. Our company designs machina and war machines for a living. He's already pissed that they stole blueprints for some of their new mechs, if they piss him off anymore, the Kingdom won't need to mobilize. My father would decimate them within a few weeks, regardless of the innocents involved. Spira wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke Charles Cross. And if he didn't destroy them immediately, mother would take down their government within a month or so from the inside, cause rebellions, and probably end up destroying half of the country just for good measure. Hell hath no wrath…" he shook his head.

"Your dad does care about you if he would destroy a country in revenge." The red head mused, and the blonde shook his head again, this time to correct.

"No, he would do it in revenge for a lost heir, not a lost son. He needs somebody to take over the family business, and he's been grooming me to do it for the past ten years. He cares about time lost and money wasted, not a family to cherish and love. Love is unnecessary in the corporate world, Axel, never forget that when you're dealing with those people." Roxas' voice had gotten a little blank, but he was able to pull through it before the red head noticed. "Friends don't really take much part into it either, so you make however many you can before you get lost in that world, and maybe you might be able to keep them through the years."

"Hey, friends are always a plus. And remember, if you need anymore, you'd easily make them at our place. We're all really grateful that you decided to help us, ya know that right?" he leaned down to catch the blonde's eye, and the answering smile made him smirk too. "Never forget who you are, and you shouldn't have problems keeping your heart when you grow up."

"Since when have you been wise?" Roxas laughed, pushing his arm a bit. The red head seemed to ponder it for a second before shrugging.

"Psht, who needs to be wise when you have street smarts? It's the street urchins that can give you the best advice, I'm just going over it that way." They both smiled as they filed out of the room and followed everyone else to the apartments.

* * *

"Thank you." Riku said, smiling serenely at the younger brunette. Sora looked up at him, previously lost in a comfortable silence.

"For what?"

"Taking us in and making us feel like family." The silverette explained, looking behind him at his brothers. The triplets were oblivious to him, trying to gather the attention of the eldest. Sephiroth seemed to be keeping them occupied, allowing Riku at a chance of peace with the boy at his side.

At first, Riku had no idea what to make of the slight, spiky headed anomaly. When he had arrived, he had been prepared for everyone to give him and his family a wide berth, something that occurred more frequently to Shinra's people than most others. But this boy, Sora, seemed to carry a little sun around with him, making everything brighter. He could take your mind off of things, let you think clearly and find something to smile about. Riku had needed that for days, and he finally found it. His friends might be gone, but it might be easier to cope here then he had originally thought.

"Oh, no problem! When I heard-… um, well…." The boy trailed off, unknowing whether the subject was too touchy as fresh as it was. Riku simply waved his hand, already preparing himself for the inevitable.

"It happened, we can't change it. You don't need to worry too much about offending me. Not easy to do, I've been told." He smirked briefly, chuckling as they entered the lobby.

"Oh, well… good! We just had to help, you know?" the brunette smiled, eyes closed and happy. As silence met him, he opened his eyes and found Riku staring at him, a sad glint in his eyes. The boy frowned. "If you ever need to talk to somebody…"

"I should be fine." Riku responded, shaking his head. The brunette was unconvinced.

"Still, if you feel you ever need help, and you don't know who to talk to… come on up and I can make us some sundaes to talk over, hm? I'm a good listener, and my rooms probably the easiest to find." He smiled softly, tilting his head. The silver boy's eyes widened briefly.

"Thank you… I'll keep that in mind." A light blush, unnoticeable by the other boy, crept through.

"Good. Now, let's get you off to bed!"

* * *

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Roxas moaned.

Three men were awaiting him upon his arrival to the entryway of the main house. One of them had dark shades on, with a security headset and a very, very shiny head. He was wearing a normal, standard tux. The other two were a little more severe. One had long blue hair falling down his back, and yellow eyes that stared out from a large X shaped scar, right on the bridge of his nose, stretching all the way to the sides of his face. He wore a calm expression, and a very large security cloak, boots, and gloves. All black. The other had graying black hair, pulled and tied back into a ponytail, and his scars were numerous and not nearly as clean as the others. He had two _very_ visible guns at his sides, and wore the same outfit as the blue haired man.

Roxas already knew why they were there and what their jobs were. The ones with coats were personal guards, and the one with glasses was a grounds security guard, a little higher up then the gate guards they already had. Father had finally cracked an excuse to send worthless, in the way men to inspect every little thing Roxas did, and the blonde was very, very unhappy about that.

"I'm under the impression that you men are here under father's orders?" he asked coolly. He made his displeasure at the idea known with more than just his words, and the entry hall seemed to dim slightly. The blue haired one raised his head higher and shook his head, stepping forward.

"My name is Saix, and I have been hired to be Sora Cross' personal Guard." His voice was deep, and strangely peaceful, like the quiet before the storm. The other stepped forward as well, snorting and eyeing the blonde with malice.

"So, since you're the blonde here, I'm assuming you're Roxas?" he asked roughly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it quickly.

"Yes. Sora?"

The brunette was whistling as he came in, and upon sighting the guard screamed and dashed behind his brother, pointing a finger and speaking gibberish.

"HE HAS A GUN! Oh MY-"

_SMACK!_

"Calm down, he's my guard. Yours is Saix, the blue haired one. Oh, and what's your name?" Roxas asked, glaring at the pepper haired man. His leery yellow eyes smiled back and he took a little puff of his cigarette.

"Xigbar. Nice to meet ya, kiddo."

"I'm not a kiddo, and Sora, relax, seriously, they're here to 'help' us. I doubt Saix will bite." As he said it, the man came forward and bowed his head.

"Hello." He said pleasantly. Saix, unlike his partner, had actually read the profile of his charge, and felt confident that he could prove trustworthy to Sora. He had read that, though a little simple at most times, Sora was a generous and caring person, though he was never held in high esteem with his father, and he was a very skilled young man when it came to business planning and profits. A social child, he was treated as the younger of the two. However, nothing in his profile prepared Saix for the response he got.

The brunette glared at him briefly before snorting and turning his head. "I don't need another douche bag to tell me I'm only kept around because father hasn't found a safe hospital, far enough away from her, to put me in. I'll be upstairs, Roxas. Oh, and if you occupied the room next to mine, I swear to god this will be an unpleasant experience for you."

And with that the uncharacteristically angry boy dashed up the stairs, and a few seconds later a slam echoed through the mansion. The guards all looked at the stairs, and then back at Roxas. Saix seemed dumbfounded, and Roxas, being the not so heartless bastard, gave him a break.

"Our last set weren't very respectful. Father had hired them to keep an eye on us, not out of actual necessity, and the one Sora had treated him like shit. Mine annoyed me constantly when I was trying to work." He sighed. "Are you here to spy on us?"

"Actually, no. Your father had to approve of us, but it was your grandfather who hired us personally. All he wants is to make sure his grandchildren are safe and in good hands." Saix corrected, still glancing back up at where the angry Sora had left. "What happened to your last set of Guards?"

Roxas was silent for a second, before looking around uneasily. "We don't talk about that."

Xigbar scoffed around the lit in his lips. "Why, too embarrassing?"

"Well, all I had to do was hold my own against father for a few minutes and tell him I wasn't getting any work done. That sent him off and away rather quickly. However, father refused to retract Sora's guard…." The blonde grimaced a moment, and shook his head. "I still don't exactly know what Sora did to the man, but none of my sources have found him yet. And when I say none of my sources, I mean mine and my fathers."

Silence answered him as Saix expression, previously concerned, became alarmed and suspicious. The other man, who Roxas still hadn't heard from, raised his eyebrows, and Xigbar whistled and chuckled softly.

"Kids not all he seems, huh?"

"Should I be worried about myself while protecting your brother?" the blue haired man asked anxiously, raising a scarred brow.

"Yeah, don't piss him off. Otherwise, keep being nice and eventually, he'll turn around. And this is really bothering me, who the hell are you?" the blonde asked suddenly, turning to the bald man.

"Rude, general security manager." Was his simple answer. Okay, Roxas could deal with that.

"He lives in the staff building, but your granddaddy said we needed to be close at hand. I'm across the hall from you, and Saix is across from your brother. Got any problems with the arrangement, Shorty?" he finished his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby plant. Roxas couldn't help but smile.

"Don't come bitching to me when you get your ass kicked by our head of staff for leaving cigarette butts everywhere. She's very uptight about smoking." And with that, Roxas headed upstairs.

He knew Sora was furious the moment he heard the music. Sora only listened to doom and gloom when he was in a bad mood, and it was blasting through the door. He didn't bother knocking and just opened the door as softly as he could. His brother was seated at his computer, dressed in a cute pair of moogle pajamas, dragging programs to the big screen above him and messing with design templates for the party. With all the excitement going on, Roxas had completely forgotten. He went up to seething brunette and touched his shoulder gently. Sora froze for a moment, and then sat back and sighed.

"I hate our father so much." Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, i do too, but there is some good news."

"Oh? And what would that be, of good tidings fairy?"

Roxas gave him a glare, but when Sora used mean sarcasm, it was best not to provoke. "Those guys were approved by father, but grandpa is the one that hired them. They really are here to make sure we're all right. Remember when grandpa sent Nora over? Best possible thing we could ever have needed at the time."

"Grandpa? Sure, he sounds good on paper, but we've never even met the man. And I don't care, I'm not gonna make myself look like an easy target." He sighed again and turned off the program. "With everything going on, I can't stand another person breathing down my neck for results; I can't stand another person who could make life even more of a hell. All I want is some room to adjust and make friends with the guests."

"I see you've taken it upon yourself to make Riku priority one?" Roxas raised a brow.

"He looked like he needed it most. He told me he lost most of his friends back home, and he didn't want pity. He just wanted to move on. Well, I can help him do that if I need to." His forehead scrunched. "But first, I should I should probably get more acquainted with everyone."

"Might be smarter to sleep before you do that, bud. Don't worry, I doubt Saix will bother you much. Just, please, for me, try to give him a chance. He seemed genuinely shocked, which means he can't be one of dads. They always expect an idiot with a big mouth, not much niceness." He laughed as Sora scowled, and dodged the pillow sent flying at him. The boy huffed and scratched his head, yawning.

"So, sleep now, tomorrow sort out all the paperwork shit?"

"Sound like a plan. Night, Sora, sleep tight." He pecked his brother on the head and ruffled his hair.

"Night Roxas. Love you." Sora yawned again, climbing into bed. Roxas turned around at the door and turned off the light.

"Love you too, Sora." And with that, the darkness swelled around the brunette and the door clicked shut.

As he fell into a peaceful sleep, Sora couldn't help but think of Riku. He still wondered why the silverette had blushed when he offered his help. Maybe he was shy.

* * *

**A/N** Okays! Well, I'd like to thank anyone reading, and I'd like to give a special thanks to anyone reviewing! I love reviews, I feed off of them, and the more I have, the more often I post to not keep you waiting! I used a lot of final fantasy characters, and yes, there might seem to be too much going on, but I promise a little mellower chapter after this.

**PS**: That joke about Kairi shouting "Oh My God, Pedophiles"? yeah, that actually happened in my class. It was funny, to say the least, and horribly embarrassing for my friend when hers came in and smacked her. Oh, don't you love high school?


	6. Roxy, The Cross Dressing Stripper?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom hearts, but I am now the proud owner of a Demyx doll~! Screw Disney, Demyx is _all_ I need.

**Warnings**: A wee bit jumpy, my apologies. And also, when Demyx is put into focus, he tends to notice every little detail when he needs a distraction. This is his coping mechanism, and though it might seem annoying after a while, it plays a huge part later. Be patient, children. Also, there's a lot of teasing around in this, so be warned, no lemons have been squeezed, but there might be a little juice here and there.

**Notes**: Every other few chapters, you get moments from the guests lives, and if a romantic scene occurs, it might be a two way window. And I made Sephiroth what he should have been in the first place, not what he turned into. Stop nagging, Melissa, I know your game now. Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I played a huge Shinra card in this story. It's important, and if you haven't played FF7, then you WILL be confused. Oh, and did I mention you get to witness Roxas' dad getting bitched out? Yeah, it happens.

* * *

"Demyx? Zexion? Time to wake up."

Demyx awoke with a start, cold with sweat and twisted under his sheets. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his eyes were wide with fear. But in the safety of the bland, normal room he was in, he was able to calm down enough to know he wasn't in danger anymore and slowly got out of bed. The dreams that struck him so were of burning buildings, children's cries, and a resounding crash as the world above was obliterated.

_No, no, stop thinking about it!_ He commanded himself. He wondered over to the adjoining bathroom and brightened a little. He had his own, and the shower looked divine. Wasting no time, he stripped and turned on the water, hugging himself as a light chill went over him. He was able to distract himself with the ornate and yet so simple decorations of the room. The sink was white, but with delicate and swirling patterns covering the edges and a marbled countertop that seemed a creature made of white and black. The shower, though it was only a shower, had intricate designs on the glass, and the metal was simple silver, enhancing the overall lack of color. Though he thought it was pretty, he hoped he'd be able to add something to it without offending the host, Sora.

By the time he had critiqued the bathroom, the shower was ready and he jumped into it, gasping as the water nearly burnt his skin. He wasn't used to automatically hot water.

"Demyx, hurry with your shower and I'll make us some waffles, okay?" he heard his mother calling. A smile graced his lips as he thought on it. _Waffles. Yum._

"How are you making waffles?" he heard Zexion call from down the hall. By this time, the water was perfect and beating away the tension in his body.

"Oh, Sora was kind enough to stock the apartments with tools, utensils, and basic food ingredients. He sends us little newsletters on the home tablet. Isn't that genius?" she replied, and the soaked blonde heard a little clinking and a few cabinet doors being shut.

"This had to cost quite a bit to supply everyone with this stuff." Luxord, awoken early by 'waffles', said.

Demyx lost track of the conversation as his family no longer needed to shout to be heard. He sighed, reaching over for the soap, and realized it wasn't there. He turned and looked over the entire shower, all blank, and groaned. He had left all his toiletries in the hall closet, all except his toothbrush. Grabbing a large, fluffy white towel (he was starting to get annoyed with white), he dried off a bit and padded down the hall to the closet.

He opened the door, rummaged around until he found his bag, and as he took it out, he heard a small click behind him. He closed the door and turned right into a half naked and surprised Zexion. Both collided and sent there things scattering everywhere, and Demyx's towel fell off his waist. Before Zexion knew what was happening, or what he had just seen, Demyx had gathered up all his things and dashed back into his room, leaving no trace but a carpet scuff as evidence he was even there at all.

"What the hell?" the lavender haired boy muttered, picking himself and his books up. Just before he entered the kitchen, he stopped and registered what he had just seen. Demyx naked.

What a wonderful and embarrassing way to start the day.

* * *

"Sora, what are you doing?"

Roxas, drinking his coffee, reading his paper and eating his cheerios, was not the happiest in the morning, as always. However, his curiosity got the better of him as Sora went around muttering under his breath, rummaging through cabinets and taking various things out. Flour, sugar, and lots of baking chocolate. The brunette was dressed already, usual shorts and shirt with a jacket, but he hadn't fixed his hair up yet. His usually cheerful face was a little dark, and Roxas was partially concerned. Either it was something huge, or something so minor it wasn't even worth his time to tend to.

"Hitler might have been evil, but god DAMN Shinra for making complicated cabinets." Sora snapped, tossing ingredients aside. When the blonde was about to comment, Sora exclaimed 'Aha!', brought out a large bag of white chocolate, and slammed it down on the counter.

"And what is the purpose of all this baking stuff?" he asked as he scanned over the news column. Nothing new except more Hallow Bastion relief efforts.

"I'm gonna go see how everybody's night went, and then I'm gonna go ask what their favorite stuff is, like, color wise and all that. I need a distraction from the party, and I need to individualize their rooms too!" he said, cheerful yet again. He got out a large bowl and started his preparations right away.

"Still haven't explained the baking stuff."

"Roxas, sometimes, when you go around to your neighbors asking what they like, it's best to come bearing gifts. That, and I like to cook, and cookies are easy." He smiled, measuring out the dry ingredients first.

"Okay, well, I won't be there. I have reports to fill, I have to alert father to the arrival and integration of our guests, and we have to deal with our bodyguards to. They've been assigned to be our _personal_ guards, Sora, which means they'll be hanging out with us too." The blonde looked around. "By the way, have you seen them? I thought they would be up by the time we were."

"Well, first, if you need me, you _call,_ alright? I don't want a repeat of earlier." Sora said sternly, then stifled a laugh. "And dude, no one's ever up at this ungodly hour but us and a few other crazies in the world."

"Actually, we've been up, we just didn't want to disturb your morning ritual." Saix called casually from the other room, appearing shortly after with another morning paper and an empty coffee cup. Sora jumped and spilled his flour on the counter, and Roxas startled slightly. Another mental note, Saix is a ninja too.

"Sides, we have our own to take care of while watching your skinny little asses." Xigbar's voice yawned as it followed Saix into the room. Sora glared at them both.

"Well, good morning to you too, Mr. Snuggle-Scars. Did you sleep like a baby?" the brunette spat. Xigbar raised a brow and chuckled.

"Look at you, being all tough. And no, I slept like a log. Babies cry and move too much."

"We trust you slept alright?" Saix asked politely, aiming it at both of them even though he was looking at Roxas. The blonde responded before Sora could.

"Yes, quite well, thank you. Xigbar, I hope you have something to do while I work. I'll be in the study all day."

"Not a problem. I'll catch up on some reading, if you don't mind." This time, there wasn't a sarcastic glint to it, and he seemed to be asking permission.

"By all means. There's not even a window to worry about, so we both should be fine." Roxas gathered his dishes, set his bowl in the sink, and finished off the coffee pot. Looking at both the guards' mugs, he put on a new pot immediately. They both nodded in thanks. Sora, busy cleaning up his mess, shot a glare at Saix and spoke up.

"I'll be doing a lot of moving all over the place. I'm going to visit each apartment and see if I can get the info in yet. They probably haven't input any data, but it doesn't hurt to check. I have to get their preferences down, hopefully before school starts again. Then I'm gonna see how Riku's doing." Saix nodded, but Roxas had a feeling he didn't quite understand it when Sora said he was doing a lot of moving around the place. Moving, as in avoiding the crap out of the blue haired man.

"Well, I'm gonna go finish those reports, call dad, and then I'm gonna see if this elusive grandfather has some contact information. I'd like to say thanks, but I've never even met the man." Roxas looked pointedly at Xigbar, who smiled and shook his head.

"I've never even met the man myself. Our agency got a call, our profiles were selected, and then we were called to a one way mirror room. I'm assuming your grandpa was on the other side, cuz all I heard was 'They'll do just fine. Leave the silver one behind.' And that was that. Oh, and the silver one was called for a different duty, but we don't know what. His name was Xemnas." He took his mug over and poured a fresh cup. "I've heard a lot about the great Ansem, but no one seems to have ever met the man. For all we know, he's dead and there's someone pretending to be him."

"What an unpleasant concept, Xigbar." Saix commented, grabbing his own cup and wondering towards Sora. The brunette scowled a bit, but continued to mix his cookies.

"Yeah, though I've never met grandpa, he seems like he's a good guy. He sends really nice letters on our birthdays, and they always end with 'May we hope your father allows me to visit soon', and then he gives us each a keychain." Sora smiled, jingling his hips. This drew attention from the guards.

"Key chains?" Saix wondered.

"Sounds like a gang thing."

"It always sounds like a 'gang thing' to you."

"No it doesn't."

"Cross dressing sounded like a gang thing to you, Xigbar, and if that seems like violent group behavior, oriented around a society of young men meant to cause mayhem and damage, then everything else has to as well." The blue one sighed. Sora's eyes went wide and Roxas choked on the remains of his coffee. The other guard just huffed.

"I ain't got nothing against them, they just sound kinda dangerous. Girls fight dirty, how do you think they fight? Please, switchblades? More like nail files and heels that could take down a man twice their height!" he complained, shaking his head. "I don't get it, and that's good enough for me to call it a gang activity. Case closed, moving on. Shorty, are we going somewhere or not?"

"Hm, well, I'd like to ask further, but I have a feeling that won't come until the third or so date." The blonde said offhandedly.

"Damn straight, more like the fifteenth. By then, we'd have had plenty of opportunity to do something kinky. Just one issue."

"Oh? What would that be, Xigbar dear?" Roxas fluttered his eyes. Sora snorted.

"You're underage _and_ you're a dude. Unless _you_ happen to be a cross dressing girl with a really deep voice, we ain't got nothing to talk about, Shorty. And then I'd have to worry about your secret cross dressing gang coming after me. Call me paranoid, but I don't like that situation." He cackled a bit, shaking his head and moving to the stairs. "Come on, you've got work to do, and we're wasting time."

"Wow, Roxas, I didn't know you liked older men." Sora teased. Roxas stopped cold in his movements, halfway up the stairs. A drawer in the back of his mind rattled violently, and Sora paused, his sensitive twin mind picking up on it. Before he could even turn to his brother to ask what was wrong, Roxas had slammed the drawer shut and locked it.

"What can I say, I like them with experience. Xigbar just looks like one of those guys." He smirked, jokingly ribbing the older man.

"Yeah yeah, shut up and get up here." He grumbled in response.

After a little chuckle, Sora returned to his cooking, and the air started to get thick with silence and tension. Saix was quietly reading the paper that Roxas had left behind, trying to give Sora his peace, but the brunette felt his presence like a heavy, smothering blanket. After a few more minutes of trying to bake, Sora had had enough.

"So, Saix, I haven't had a chance to read your file. Tell me more about yourself and your training." He asked, falsely cheery. Saix, not understanding the difference, was only just wary at the sudden change. He seemed pleased that the brunette was being civil with him.

"I started my training when I was ten, and I've continued it up until just a few months ago, when we were chosen as your guards. I've learned and mastered martial art Gito, I'm good with guns, though Xigbar is better, and I'm a more close body guard then a distance one." He replied calmly. Sora raised his brow.

"Why?"

"Because, I was a test subject of Shinra when I was six, and the tests ran until I turned nine. On my tenth birthday, I decided to use my new… gifts, to help others." He blinked.

"Oh. What… what did they do to you?" Sora, completely forgetting his hate towards the man, asked with concern. Saix shrugged.

"The details aren't important of how it was done, but I did gain the strength of First Class Soldiers, plus a little extra when I'm angered. They called it a certain type of Mako called Berserk. When I'm angered, my body feeds on its own energy to pound things into a pulp. If I have a blunt object, I can destroy a building in minutes." He paused. "I'm never angry unless my charge is threatened and close to harm. You're safe with me."

"Right." He remembered his previous dislike for the man, and put his cookies in the oven. "Look, you might be an alright guy, but I don't like people when they cramp my style. My last guard pissed me off, and look what happened to him."

"Well… no one really knows what did happen to him." The man replied carefully, a question in his voice. Sora smiled.

"Let's just say he isn't around here anymore to regret picking on me. I'm all sunshine and rainbows until someone pisses me off." And with that, Sora turned on the timer and went into the next room, flipping on a movie channel as he did so. Saix was left there, eyes wide and feeling somewhat insecure about his job.

"What was his name?" he asked, and when he didn't get an answer, he felt wary about the seemingly harmless boy. He startled slightly as a spiky brown head popped out from the door way.

"Jeremy Garlington. That **_was_ **his name."

* * *

"Axel!"

The red head awoke with a grunt as Sasha crashed into his bed, holding onto her new shadow doll. She was smiling like crazy and jumping up and down, bringing most of the sheets off.

"What?" he groaned, shielding his eyes from the sudden intrusion of light.

"Reno's making pancakes!" she squealed, jumping around some more and dashing out the door again, giggling the entire way. He groaned again, checking the time. Ten o' clock. Way too fucking early.

He pushed himself out of bed, taking in all the neutral colors. He had been too tired out of all the day's events to really notice before. His sheets were white, the floor was a cream colored carpet, and the walls were an off white. Everything was new, expensive, and most definitely boring. He went over to the bland dresser that he vaguely remembered dumping his clothes in, and retrieved a shirt and a pair of pants. He forgot, however, where he put his toiletries.

"Yo, Reno!" he called.

"What?"

"Where the hell is my bathroom crap?" he threw his clothes into the adjoining bathroom and looked down to the kitchen. Reno was indeed making pancakes, with a smiling Sasha sitting on one of the barstool at the counter. He looked up at his younger brother and smirked.

"I dunno, precious, where'd you leave your make up and jewelry?"

"Haha, laugh it up, take a second, and tell me dip-," he stopped, glanced at his little sister, and grimaced. "You idiot."

"Well, since you're being so considerate of our little sister, I might as well. It's in the closet next to my room. Top shelf, yo." He flipped a couple of pancakes over and started to add fruit and chocolate to some of them. Axel's stomach grumbled and told him to hurry up and get pretty.

"Thanks."

Sure enough, all his bathroom items were in a bag at the top, and he grabbed them and went back to his room. He glanced down into Sasha's room and saw a bathroom too, so he assumed that everyone had their own. Convenient, but wouldn't it be impractical with all the water being used? He pondered that as he went back to his room and entered his own bathroom.

He was really getting bored of the whole white-on-silver-on-gold-on-white color display, but then again, it wasn't his room. At least it _was_ a bathroom, and at least he had a place to stay. Turning on the shower, he couldn't help but think of his host's. The little brown haired one, Sora, he was nice enough. Very friendly and very helpful. Maybe not as bright as he expected, but a nice enough guy to know. He remembered that the brunette had said they could change the colors and stuff if they wanted, and he would be around to ask about it later. Maybe today? He didn't know. The room started to steam, and he got in and moaned as the hot water hit him. God, did he love hot water.

Then there was the other host, Roxas. _What about him?_ He thought. Well, he was short, and had a face that wasn't so friendly, normally. Except when Sasha had come up to him, or when Sora was talking to him. _Or when I talked to him_. Yeah, Roxas had lightened up after a little bit of conversation. He was polite and well mannered, knew how to work his way around people, and he was very protective of his family and friends. And when somebody that protective has money and power, it means that they could do a lot of damage.

But Axel doubted he'd do anything unless it was a last ditch effort. Roxas didn't like to hurt people in general, but he knew how to, he was sure. He was stylish, too. Had nice hair. He had really, really beautiful sky blue eyes. He could see why, when he smiled, Sasha had called him an angel. He looked the part when he had a smile on his face. Hell, even when he was a little scary, he looked like an avenging angel.

_But what about when they mentioned an incident, a lot like this?_ Axel wondered, massaging his shampoo into his hair. The blonde had been very, very jittery for the few second she let it show, before he got it under control. Something bad had happened, but when Axel was a kid, nothing really _had_ happened. No bombings, no war. Shinra had been targeted and a lot of the country was dead, but that was before their time. So what had made Sora so sad and Roxas so jittery?

"Axel, come on, hurry up or there won't be any left for you!" Reno called, disrupting his chain of thought. The red head grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped in it before hanging another on his hair. As he looked in the steamed mirror, he pondered the boy.

Roxas was a big shell. And Axel _really_ wanted to crack it, if not for anything but a thank you. The blonde looked like he needed a legit friend, not another poser or groupie.

_And hey, maybe I'll get lucky. He just might think I'm cute too, if his blush meant anything_. He thought as he left to the kitchen. Because the blonde had definitely blushed the first time they had meant, even if it was a little subtle.

* * *

"So, I am to assume, by the man standing behind you chair, that the guards have arrived? Or am I expected to pay a ransom within an hour?" Charles cross raised his eyebrows at his son and the guard. So, today was one of his lighter moods. That would make things easier.

"Yes sir, they have arrived. I am told that they came from grandfather?" Roxas asked, treading as light as he could. He made it obvious that the question didn't need persuasion. However, instead of getting angry in a cold, calculating way, his father seemed to actually get uncomfortable.

"Yes. He left a contact number and his wish to speak with you… today, if at all possible."

"May I ask why he hasn't expressed the wish to contact us until now? It would have been unfortunate had these men arrived and I had not received word beforehand." Roxas asked, letting a bit of irritation seep into his voice. Charles cross immediately returned it with ice in his.

"Watch yourself, Rox-,"

"No." Roxas barked. He turned to Xigbar. "Leave us."

The man raised an eyebrow, a strange sensation crawling up his spine. Roxas, as far as he could tell, was not a cold person. So why did he suddenly feel like he was getting frostbite? Regardless, he nodded uneasily and left without a word. Roxas turned back to his father.

"I have had enough secrecy where my grandfather is concerned, and you know I am no child. I haven't been a child for years, father. So, in this, I must put my foot down, and I demand to know why you have been keeping the man at bay." Roxas' fury, so carefully bottled up over the past ten years, had been shaken up and was about ready to burst. Charles was about to respond in kind, but something in his sons eyes stopped him.

Roxas face was a mask of serenity, cold maybe, but peaceful at the same time. That was dangerous. But his eyes were the more so in that, though distant, they looked like they were cutting you to pieces. They looked like they went through your soul, a look that had been very famous amongst the Cross family for centuries. Business men, aristocrats, politicians in general, all of them had the Cross eyes. Roxas had finally snapped into his, and that made him _lethal_. No, he was no longer a child, but he was a young man that had overstepped and successfully shaken Charles. Charles could do nothing against his own son when it came down to this.

"I had wished to groom you myself for this job, but your grandfather had wished to be a part of your lives, yours and Sora's. I wouldn't have cared about Sora knowing him, but that would have eventually led to you meeting the man at a young age, and his influence would have…." He dwindled, bridging his fingers and falling silent, thinking.

"Crushed yours with absolute authority?" the boy supplied. Still that hard, cold, penetrating glare.

"Yes. Now, it hardly matters, I see." He paused, regarding his son with new interest. "You seem to have grown up faster than I had intended. And your grandfather has run out of patience with me. He has decided to interfere at last. And I am powerless to stop him here."

Roxas, stunned that his father would ever admit defeat in front of him, had a moment of pure terror. His grandfather made his own father look like a common man, and _no_ man made Charles Cross look common.

"Did he want to meet both Sora and I this way? Or was he intending to visit?"

"I have no clue. Your grandfather no longer concerns himself with me. All the advice I can give is, if he is kind to you, return it. If he is not… do not incite him. He will destroy you completely and utterly. I shall take those reports now so I may overlook them and send them back. Your grandfather doesn't like to be kept waiting too long." And with that, he signed out and Roxas, numb, sent over his reports. A number, marked as unknown, appeared before him.

Roxas couldn't breathe.

His grandfather. This was his grandfather's number. This was a man who was more God than any man the blonde had ever met. This man was more than Charles Cross ever dreamed of being.

As quickly as he could without thinking more on it, Roxas sent the man a message saying that, though he'd love to speak to him now, that Sora would most likely want to be present and was currently greeting his guests. He apologized profusely and sent it with a jittery hand. A few seconds passed, and a reply came.

_I understand completely and eagerly await, Roxas._

"Oh my god."

* * *

"Hello, Hope. Wanna cookie?"

Sora beamed at the white haired boy, who looked up briefly and smiled wide. His screen was covered in reports and various pictures. All of them belonged to the guests.

"Thanks, Boss." He smiled, taking one gently and biting into it. "Hm, chocolate chunk. Anyways, almost everyone has sent in their own personal preferences towards colors, general style, and foods. The mothers of the groups all sent in what they like to cook, except for Ms. Remnant, and out of her family, she and Riku are the only ones who haven't sent a report. She wanted to talk directly to you, and Riku didn't send a message of any kind. Everyone else, for the most part, sent a message of thanks and gratitude."

"Thanks buddy, I'll go up and deliver the cookies, and then I'll be in the Remnants apartment speaking with Jenova for a bit. Send those reports in a file to my home terminal and then set up a system for messages. It might take a bit of time, but it should be easier in the long run. I'll send the link to you so you can put it on the main page for our guests." Hope nodded at his instructions and started to work immediately, and Sora ascended up the stairs.

He stopped by each apartment area, delivering cookies and chatting with the people who answered. Rose was thrilled with the gift, and Marluxia had half heartedly smiled. Cloud hadn't been visible. Yuffie and Vincent answered together, saying that their guardians were out at the center, checking out the books. Apparently Cid's wife, Clare, needed books like she needed water. Reno and Sasha had answered the door on the Bevel's place, smiling and taking the parcel, chatting and asking if there was a bar in the area that needed a bartender. Sora, underage, couldn't think of any, but he'd ask around and tell him if he found anything. Axel was apparently outside looking at the scenery. Demyx had answered the Price door, worried but pleasantly surprised to see Sora. He smiled, accepted the gift, and Zexion came up and thanked him personally for all he had done. Sora blushed and smiled, and Larxene snorted from somewhere in the background.

"She loves cookies, best way to get to her stormy little heart." Zexion had whispered, taking one of the little bags and tossing them to her. Silence answered them for a second before a muffled 'Thanks' was heard. The brunette had to smile.

"I make cookies every Saturday, so you're welcome to stop by and check in for some." He called a little louder, and he heard a squeak of excitement before some coughing.

"Fine."

He wasn't fooled.

After that, he went back down to the Remnants door and knocked. It took a moment before somebody answered him, and it wasn't who he expected.

"Hello?" one of the triplets, the long haired one, Yazoo, answered. He didn't look pleased. Sora cleared his throat a bit before responding.

"I received a message that your mother wished to speak with me, and I just wanted to bring a little something I made this morning. I always bake on Saturdays, so I thought I'd bring some over…." He trailed off, meeting Yazoo's stare as the silver haired boy stayed silent.

"Yazoo, how rude. Don't just let him stand out there. I apologize; I didn't realize you would get my message so quickly." Ms. Remnant, Jenova, appeared behind her son, smiling serenely and glancing at her son. In that moment, even though she was shorter, it looked like she was glancing down at him, not the other way around. It was obvious that she commanded a certain respect among her children.

He walked in after her, taking notice of little things added to the apartment. A picture here, a little pillow there. It was enough to show that she had made her own space out of the amount Sora had given them. He was pleased to see the adjustments.

"So, Ms. Remnant, what is it I may do for you?" he smiled, and she smiled slightly, though it wavered.

"I believe that now is as good a time as any to have a discussion on what will happen now. No use dilly-dallying around, no?" she asked, meeting his eyes. Sora nodded, taking a seat and getting a bit more comfortable.

"Of course. I understand it's a lot to go through, but if you wish to talk now, I'm more than happy to."

"Well, you see, I know the other families come from the southern district, the rather… poor district. I, however, do not. My accounts were still open, and I have moved all available funds to separate and discreet locations to avoid a government… tax. I will do my part, but I refuse to lose everything I have earned. My family comes first. Do you think this selfish of me?" she asked, eyes never leaving his.

"I understand very well. Your money is yours to do with as you wish, and I will not interfere. Nor, might I add, do I judge you. When you say that you will help and do your part, I believe you, and that's all I need. I know liars, and you are not one." He said with certainty.

"How are you so sure?" she asked, eyebrow raised. Everything else stayed the same.

"I've had my fair share of people thinking they can lie to me to get what they want. They failed. That's that. Moving along, if you please." He frowned, refusing to explain further. She nodded briefly.

"Out of all the questions, my main one is how long have we been allotted to stay here?" her voice took on a guarded edge, and Sora smiled happily.

"As long as you want. This apartment was built on private property, eliminating it as an actual apartment. It is a building, nothing more, and it is sanctioned by the government. You may live here as if it were your own home. I expect no rent, no mortgages. Father said all that must be payed is the general cost of living after a few months. We will supply food, clothing, and basic necessities for the next six months, and in that time we hope somebody in your family finds a job. Electrical, water, heating and such are already covered, so don't worry about that. Anything you want to buy you must buy with your own money, aside from food and clothing. You may have already seen your allowance for these?" she nodded. "Then you know that it would be unwise to get expensive with it."

"How did you figure the amount for each family?" she wondered.

"I took the ages, number, and general descriptions to figure the numbers. Though your family has been allotted more than, say, the Bevels, it is because you have two adults, three young adults, and one teenager. Your ages have been considered, and… well, it gets complicated from there, but it wasn't easy, let me tell ya." He smiled nervously. "I like to figure numbers in when I make plans. I like to arrange things."

"This sounds satisfactory." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It sounds a little too good to be true…."

"Our father wouldn't dare kick you guys out. As long as he has pride, which he always will, you guys have a home. If you guys need help looking for jobs, I can ask around and find some for you. I know that Reno was looking for any open bartending gigs, so if there are specifics that you can think of, just let me know. If, at some point, you no longer wish to live here, then I can try to find some other place for you, but right now? There is nowhere else." He frowned. After a few moments of silence, Jenova didn't respond, and Sora moved on. "If you need anything else, please let me know. Hope has probably put it up by now, but if not, there will soon be a link on the home page of your terminal that goes to either my inbox or Roxas' inbox."

"Oh, yes, ingredients for food. You gave us some basic, but I'll put in another message. No need to bore you further, dear." She looked behind herself. "Riku has stayed in his room most of the day. If you wish to speak with him about his arrangements, now is as good a time as any."

"Thank you ma'am." He smiled, set the cookies down, and took a bag with him to Riku's room. He knocked lightly, and when he heard a short 'come in', he did.

He wasn't expecting a half naked Riku to be sorting through his clothes on his bed, trying to pick out a shirt. The silverette's hair hung limply down to his neck, damp and messy. His broad shoulders extended into long, well used arms covered in a light silver sheen. His abs were obvious, and the swimmers body caught Sora's attention briefly.

"Are you a swimmer?" he asked casually, and Riku's eyes shot up and he startled when Sora came to his attention. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to surprise you."

"No, i-it's okay." He gulped face growing a little redder. If he hadn't just taken a hot shower, his face would have made a very visible change. He set down the shirt in his hands and stuffed those into his pockets. "W-what's up?"

Sora didn't seem to notice his stutter, so he breathed a sigh of relief as the brunette took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Oh, I was just wondering what you wanted to do with your room. You didn't fill out a report or anything, so I thought I'd come by to ask."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I supposed to fill it out today?" he asked, fidgeting a bit with his clothes and folding them neatly. The other boy shook his head.

"Not really, but everyone else has, so I thought I'd nab the last one and get to work on it. I've been so busy lately that when I have downtime, I get way too… well, bored. Better to get as much done as possible so I can finally relax." He shrugged. "If you don't know, that's okay. It's not an emergency or anything."

"No, uh, I can do it now if you want." Riku offered. He sat down next to the brunette as he pulled out a little travel terminal pad. He clicked a few things, and as it loaded, he handed the cookies to Riku.

"I made some today, thought I'd bring over a few for everyone." The silver boy thanked him, and Sora brought up the little form. "Okay, well then, here you go, this will help us determine what you want your room to be like when it gets remodeled. Just input colors, general styles and it should be fine."

He nodded and took the little board, going through it quickly and efficiently. Sora looked around, finding an almost empty room and focusing on the other boy's possessions. He had shorts, shirts, and a pair of swimming trunks, but not much else. A picture of his family was on the blank dresser, and it depicted his older brothers and his mother all smiling happily on the beach, wearing their swim suits, while he was just kind of _there_, smirking in a 'I don't give a shit' way. The brunette didn't know why, but that grin ate away at something in his stomach, not unpleasant, just different. He didn't know how to describe it.

He looked back at the boy next to him, trying to find the difference, trying to find what was missing. His bad boy attitude was the most visible, but there was some damage there, something inside Riku that was either broken or just plain missing. But his smile was somewhat genuine now, or at least Sora thought it was. He looked a little edgy, but not like he was going to run into a corner and cry or anything.

The tablet was half full now, and Sora looked at the boy in the picture again, seeing that he must have been a bit younger, not quite so defined. Maybe fifteen? He compared that Riku to this one and shook his head internally. He had simply matured before all this happened, but his personality didn't take the plunge until the bombing. He had definitely been active, though. Sora didn't think he would ever get as toned as the other boy.

"Done." Riku said, handing the tablet back to him. Sora took it and smiled.

"Thanks. I'll get these done in the next couple of days, and then we'll be able to add some color to this place!" he laughed, getting up to leave. Riku, feeling a little nudge from the back of his mind, got up too.

"Do you know anything fun around here?" he blurted out, scratching his head and biting his lip. He wasn't good with being social to new people, but he really, really didn't want to be alone today. He had spent all morning being isolated in his room, and he desperately needed to get out, preferably with the brown haired boy.

"Uh, sure. What did you want to do?" Sora cocked his head a bit, regarding him.

"Um, anything really. I just need to get out of here, ya know?"

"Well, I could hold off on the reports til tonight, if you wanted. We could find something to do at the Rec center or our place." He suggested. Riku nodded.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. I should probably let Seph know, though."

"Seph?"

"Yeah, Sephiroth? He looks like he hates any type of affection, but he's a good guy. He takes it all light heartedly." Riku grabbed a shirt from the top of the pile and started to put it on. "Is there a swimming area or beach or something around here?"

"I take it I was right when I guessed you were a swimmer?" the brunette laughed.

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"You have a swimmers body. It's not all that hard to notice." Sora smiled. Riku blushed lightly, and grabbed his swim trunks from his bed. "Yes, we have a beach on the other side of the property."

It took Riku a moment to sift through what Sora had just said, and when he did, he looked at the boy with alarm. "You have an actual beach, yours, all to yourself, at the end of your property?"

"Yep. Not too big, but just enough for us and our friends. So, you gonna come?" he turned around and left the door open, leaving Riku there staring after him. With a shake of his head, the boy followed after.

The thing that really got him was that Sora noticed his body. Hm, maybe it wouldn't be all that bad here.

* * *

Xigbar had never seen a kid so freaked out.

Roxas was pacing his study, eyes wide, hair askew in ways it normally wasn't, and knuckles pressed hard against his teeth. After he had gotten that message from Ansem, the kid had been worrying all over the place, and until now, Xigbar had let him, just watching and studying his habits. He needed to know his charges reactions and emotional settings so he could be a better guard, but this was getting old.

"Kid, I don't really think you have anything to worry about. Your grand daddy wouldn't have bothered hiring us if he hadn't liked you enough. He may not know you all that well, but I'm betting he's been keeping _some_ kind of eye on you." He tried to soothe. Roxas wasn't really getting any better.

"The man made my father, my _father_, turn into a god damn PUSSY! Do you know what that means? He's scary shit! He's head honcho! He's as close to God as a man on this world will _ever_ get!" he exclaimed, getting more shrill as the words poured out. "My brother needs to get his skinny little ass over here NOW and five minutes ago! Can't you call Saix to get him over here? No matter what he has to do to him?"

"I tried that about an hour ago. Apparently, Saix is… um…" The veteran stopped, but the blonde understood immediately.

"Fucking fantastic, he lost Sora. I swear to GOD, when I find that runt I'm going to rip him a new one." He clawed at his hair, increased his pacing, and then stopped. A door could be heard closing. Roxas' eyes turned furious. He dashed to the door, only to find himself being blocked by the pepper haired man.

"Don't do something you'll regret later. Everyone is stressed enough cuz of all this stupid bombing crisis. Take a second to chill, and then go out there and request that your brother join you for a little chat with grand pappy. Mkay?" he reasoned, taking the blonde by the shoulders and forcing him to look into his eyes. "I don't want to see you guys fighting, cuz then Saix and I might have to get involved. We're brothers just as much as you guys are, okay?"

Roxas took a deep breath, closed his eyes, held it and exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, he was noticeably calmer.

"Okay, let's go get him and prepare ourselves for a little-,"

_Bing!_

Roxas and Xigbar looked at the terminal, watching as a file came up. It had Ansem's name flashing across it. The blonde slowly approached it, clicked on the receive button, and a video recording appeared. Roxas had to hold in a gasp when he saw the man.

He was everything his father wasn't and more. He was straight backed, tall and proud against his chair, and he had on a red and black suit that looked not only impeccable, but somehow divine. His long blond hair was tied back sharply, not a hair out of place, and his rather tan skin set off his outrageously amber eyes, glowing against the whites. His facial structure was flawless and angled, and there were perfect wrinkles on his smooth skin, as if they were printed on. The man commanded grace and power even as he stood there. And then he smiled.

The man's face, previously solemn, now crinkled with amusement and his intense, amber eyes softened. When he started to speak, his voice had a rich, deep timber of many, many years of experience, and all the warmth that filled it left Roxas speechless, afraid of having to answer. Thankfully, a recording couldn't see your reactions, so he could gaze in wonder at the grandfather he never knew.

"Hello, Roxas. I would say it is good to finally meet you, but I haven't seen you myself." He laughed quietly, smiling just a little wider. "Do not worry. I know well what you and your brother, Sora, are trying to do in your father's… questionable absence. You all must be very busy with your own engagements. However, I sent this message to inform you that an urgent matter has come up within the past hour or so, and I can no longer delay, so our bonding and formal greetings may have to wait until next week, at the earliest."

Another voice whispered in the back ground. "Sir, they're panicking on the other line."

"Yes, of course," he sighed, looking back to the recording. Back to Roxas. "I do hope that after all this unpleasant business has been solved, we may speak to each other. I wish to know the grandsons that were purposefully kept from me. Until next time, Roxas, farewell, and I hope you get along well with your new guards. These ones won't be quite as… abrasive as the last ones. And tell Sora that I handpicked Saix myself, and that the man has a compassion nearly unfound in his line of work. I'm sure, after what I found out about the other guard, that Sora is staring daggers at the poor man now. Farewell."

_Bing!_

The message ended.

There was a brief silence for a few minutes, as Roxas and the older man digested what they had just seen and learned. At last, Roxas was able to find something to say.

"I may be like father, but Sora seems to take after Grandpa."

* * *

Sora was uncomfortable for the strangest reason.

Riku was standing right outside his bedroom door, and he was standing alone in his swim trunks, staring at his reflection in the large mirror in the corner. He was nervous because this new person hadn't grown up with him, and he had never seen Sora's body before, which made Sora worry and worry, even though he didn't know if he shouldn't have to. His head was hurting, and he was generally confused. He wanted to go swimming, but some part of him didn't like the idea of swimming with Riku. Not that he didn't like Riku, he liked him just fine. He just wasn't sure why he was so self conscious all of a sudden. He decided to put on a beach shirt, though, just in case.

"You're being an idiot." He told himself quietly, and he shook himself before putting on a smile and jumping out the door, ready to go with towel in hand.

Riku wasn't _there_.

"Riku?" he called, looking around vaguely.

"Right behind you." Sora jumped as the silverette stood up from the floor. He had apparently sat down right _next_ to his door. Had he kept him waiting that long?

"Oh, sorry, I was having a hard time finding my trunks." He lied casually. Riku nodded, smiling slightly. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." His eyes hardened just a bit as he said so, tensing up and looking around. Sora shot him a confused look before frowning and looking towards a small scuffling noise coming up the stairs. It was a very silent and very livid looking Saix.

"I see that you've completed your goals for the day." Was all he said, and the quiet irritation was thick in the air, but not his voice. Sora narrowed his eyes at him.

"Maybe you should have kept up." He snapped, standing down and putting his hands on his hips. He had successfully avoided the blue haired man all day, and he certainly hadn't wanted him to show up after all the work was done. What would the man do, sit on the beach all day?

"I did." The man replied simply, mouth curving into a soft and yet edged smile. He was visibly trying his best to keep control of his temper.

"I didn't see you in the apartments." Sora challenged, lifting his head up.

"Of course you didn't. You've made it obvious you want me neither heard _nor_ seen, so I simply stayed out of your way. However, when you went into this young man's room, I was unable to hear where you were going. Rec or Beach?" he asked, frowning slightly. He didn't seem to like not being able to see nor hear his charge, and Sora smirked.

"I don't want you unseen or unheard, I just don't want you _period_. I don't need a bodyguard hounding my every movement and cramping my style. I had enough of that for a year, and whoever hired you should have realized that, when I got rid of the last one, that I wouldn't be needing nor wanting another one!" he hissed, face contorted in malice. Riku was surprised that the brunette could even get this mad.

"Your father hired the first one. Your grandfather hired _me_, knowing exactly what happened to the other one. My instructions were to not only keep you safe, but try my best to keep you comfortable. Your father can't make me criticize you for every little 'imperfection' that exists. I wouldn't have accepted if it had been asked of me." He sighed. "I'll leave you be for the rest of the night then. Try not to get yourself killed."

And with that, he left Sora slightly dumbfounded and more than a little embarrassed. He shook his head, glanced at a slightly confused Riku, and nodded his head to the stairs. The silverette followed him through the back door of the mansion, right into a colorful deck. Flowers of many different types were spread out in a tropical array across the vast expanse of wood. Riku was overwhelmed with the scents of the island, and Sora took an appreciative sniff.

"It always smells good around here." He commented, following the little pathway out to the beach.

"It really is beautiful here."

"Yeah, it's a peaceful place to live for the most part. Until parents show up." He shrugged. "Or evil spies hired by the family to make sure I'm not doing something stupid 'again'." He snorted, shaking his head and going out to the umbrella stand. He set one up and checked the clock. "It's almost three, so we should be good on time."

"Evil spies?" Riku mused, stretching a bit to loosen up. He was a serious swimmer, it seemed. Sora stared out of the corner of his mind. He was an almost expert swimmer himself, but his body never really went past thin and nicely trimmed. He never actually built more muscle than he already had, unlike Riku. It was obvious the silverette swam and gained _something_ from the experience.

"Yeah. Basically, my father thinks I'm the stupid twin that will disgrace his presence or something, and he sent a 'body guard' to watch over me. The prick didn't give two shits about me and teased me, belittled me, and was downright horrible. So I decided he needed to go. I asked dad personally, and his only response was… bad." He twitched uncomfortably, hesitating when his fingers automatically went to his shirt to get ready to swim. He wasn't ready to take it off yet.

"… Was it that bad?" Riku asked. Sora grimaced and shifted his footing.

"I found out how much the man really hated me. He only wanted one kid, a perfect blonde image of himself. He got us both instead. He favors Roxas because Roxas is his heir. I'm just along for the very bumpy ride, apparently… and I'm of absolutely no use to him." He said quietly. He shook his head. "But it really doesn't matter what he thinks. He might be my father, but he's most definitely not my dad. Come on, let's go swimming."

Sora nearly ripped his shirt off in his rush to get in the water without Riku seeing. Again, he had no idea why he was so self conscious around the other boy, but all he knew was that he did not like the idea of being seen half naked by him. It felt that, compared to him, he was a twig with barely anything but baby fat.

Riku watched the other boy casually, an amused smirk on his face. Sora was so thin that Riku almost laughed. He was just as tall as Riku was, and his lack of extra muscle made him… well, Riku didn't exactly know how to describe it other than nice to look at. However, Sora didn't take his smirk as an appreciative one, but a condescending one. He bristled a little, but kept his tone down.

"What?" he frowned a bit, looking down at himself.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. You just don't look like you've gained much muscle, but you look like you swim a lot. Do you do anything else to work out?" the silverette asked, redirecting his gaze to the boys face. He felt his eyes drift back to Sora's thin frame. He quickly looked back up when he shrugged.

"Not really. I'm just a bottomless pit when it comes to food." He looked away and then back, smiling widely. "Race ya to the water!"

Before the silverette had even a clue of what was going on, the other boy was dashing to the water with an unusual amount of speed. He chuckled lightly as he ran after him, diving headfirst into the water when he reached the line. He swam around and behind Sora, who had stopped to see where he had gone, and popped out of the water and sprayed his dry half with it. Sora squeaked briefly before splashing him back and diving away.

* * *

Axel was now bored and had nothing to do. Not a very good combination.

He checked his messages. He had none. He checked in his bags for something to do. He had nothing. He looked around for a book or a magazine. There were none. He even looked in the fridge to see if there were snack foods. Guess what? Nada, zip, zilch, no way José, no dice, no cigars.

"But I'm _bored_." He whined, thumping himself down onto the too clean couch. He looked around again, searching for _something_, anything to cure his incessant emptiness. Just as he was about to sigh and go to sleep, his eyes caught something glowing to the side of the fridge.

Terminal time.

He jumped up, setting himself in front of the shining countertop, and looked at all the functions. Apparently, he could join a little chat group of people in the other housing areas, he could send a message to Hope, the boy at the lobby, and he could send messages to everyone else through him to the staff. He had access to shops through the touch screen, and he apparently had a certain number of credits he could use in the household to buy things. He wasn't interested in that yet. He looked around, saw that he could get the news, general TV, newsletters, invitations, and just as he was about to explore the local map, a new function appeared. Two links, one to Sora, and one to Roxas. Sora's was red, which meant he was offline, but Roxas' was green.

"Eh, why not?" he smirked, clicking on it and awaiting the message to pop up.

His screen went blank for a moment, and then a picture of the blonde in question came forward and sat down, looking at the screen with interest. His eyes widened a bit before he realized who it was, and he gave a small smile.

"I'm guessing that you're playing with all of the options because you're bored out of your mind?" he smirked wider, chuckling softly. Axel nodded sheepishly.

"There is, like, _nothing_ to do here. I've been trying for the past two hours!" he checked the clock in the corner. Okay, maybe the last _three_ hours.

"You do remember that you have full access to the Rec center and if you need anything, Hope can help you, right?"

"Oh, are you busy?" Axel worried. He didn't want to send a bad impression to the teen, and he certainly didn't want to come off as a kid who needed someone to talk him through everything. But god, he was bored, and he hadn't even seen Reno or Sasha since this morning. They were in town, checking out the sights. Axel had taken too long eating breakfast.

"Oh, no, I'm already done with all my business today. You actually just caught me leaving." He laughed a bit, scratching his head, and a man with salt and pepper hair stepped forward. Xigbar.

"I'll be right back." He muttered, waiting for Roxas to nod. Once the man was gone, the blonde turned back and smiled a little more openly.

"Well, if you're so bored, did you want to hang out?"

"Sure!" he jumped up as the door banged open and Reno was heard cursing behind a variety of boxes. Most were pink and frilly, some bags attached to the sides. Sasha came waltzing in, flinging her little arms out and hitting Reno in the back of the knee. As she dashed to her room, he dropped pretty much everything, cried out in defeat, then frustration, and kicked one of the boxes across the room. He started to breathe heavily, noticed Axel, blinked, and walked to Sasha's room. Axel's eyebrows rose and he twitched. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see any of that."

"Yeah, that was weird… anyways, if ya wanna come up to the house, you can. As long as you don't try to kill me, Xigbar should be fine. He's my new guard… cuz my grandfather is a wee bit paranoid, but his heart is in the right place." He sighed. "What did you want to do when you got here? We have tons of stuff available."

"Huh. Does Radiant Garden have a clock tower?"

"Er, no, not Radiant Garden, but Twilight Town, one of the smaller cities does. It takes about an hour tram to get there, and after you get off, just go to the top of the station. It's pretty large. Why?" he asked curiously. It was somewhat of a random question.

"Eh, it's too late now, but sometime I want to go there and just eat ice cream on the edge. I used to do that all the time at Hollow Bastion. I'm feeling kind of sentimental." He shrugged. "But I'm cool with anything you can think of, really. I'm bored, and I haven't really had human contact for a while. Except my crazy ass brother and my lovable little sister."

"Mhm. Well, if you're really bored, you could sit down and talk while I make something for dinner. I forgot lunch…." He frowned. "And Sora needs to be yelled at. I've been looking for him since forever ago. Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, he dropped cookies off a while ago. Its four thirty now."

"Hm, well, I'll yell at him later then, come on over whenever you're ready." He waved, pressed a button, and logged off. Axel smiled softly to himself.

"New friend time. Hopefully not as boring, yes?" he muttered as he walked to the bathroom. Time to have fun.

* * *

"Hm… Roxas is probably making dinner soon. Wanna come over?" Sora asked, smiling up at Riku. The other boy had a towel over his shoulders and one around his waist, silver hair spilling haphazardly over his face. Teal eyes looked back and smiled.

"Sure. And by the way, you swim like a demon." He grinned. Sora couldn't help but notice how perfect his smile was. An answering one graced his lips and he shrugged easily.

"When you grow up on an island, it's kinda sad to not be able to swim. So, I learned, I liked it, and I do it pretty much whenever. When in Rome…." Sora chuckled. They both dried off as best they could, and headed back to the house.

"Hey, Sora?" Riku asked. When the brunette answered with a hum, he lost his nerve and asked a different question. "Is there a way to let my mom know that I'm staying for dinner?" _Dammit, Riku, you're a chicken._

"Sure, you can use our terminal, or if you want, our phone." He replied, giving a brief smile. As he opened the door, he heard a small clicking noise, almost like a… a tapping spatula?

_Oh Shit._

"Hello." Riku said pleasantly to a silent and somewhat pissy looking Roxas. The blonde replied with a nod and a small smile.

"Sora, you missed Grandpas call. Since I didn't want to talk to him without you by my side, I _didn't _talk to him. I sent him a message saying so and he understood, but the message he sent back is upstairs in the study. Its video." And with that, Roxas returned to flipping over some eggs and sausage. Sora squeaked and ran up the stairs, and Riku was left standing there and looking lost.

"Um, do you have an open terminal or phone? I need to call my mom… um…." Riku bit his lip, and suddenly felt like he was intruding. Roxas caught on.

"You're welcome to dinner, and I assume Sora has already invited you, yeah?" Riku nodded. "Well, the more the merrier. Axel's coming over too cuz he can't find _anything_ to do."

"Sounds like him. Just remember, he's kinda lazy… a lot." He snorted. "Well, lazy when he's bored, anyways."

"I'll keep that in mind." A door opened as he finished, and tossed some of the sausage on a plate.

"Hello?" came the red heads tentative voice.

"In here." Roxas hollered back, splitting some more eggs and dashing salt on them before they cooked. "Riku, the terminal to the side of the fridge should work. Just press household, then complex two, then Remnant."

"Thanks." He went over and typed in the instructions, and after a few mild beeps, Sephiroth's face came into view. Not who Riku was expecting.

"Where are you?" the man asked casually, taking in the background before flitting back to Riku's face. He could almost say that Sephiroth had been worried about him.

"I'm over at the main house. Sora invited me to dinner." He shrugged. "I hadn't planned on it, but… yeah." He shrugged again, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck tingle. Sephiroth wasn't pleased about something, and Riku had no idea what it could be.

"Oh. I was unaware you had been with the boy."

"I told Loz to tell you. And mother had been there when I had, so I would assume one of them would have known." _Unless Loz was being the little shit he could be_.

"Loz didn't mention anything, and mother must have forgotten. Regardless, next time, leave me a message or something. I was worried. You may stay, try not to intrude too much, and mind yourself now, you hear me?" His Mako green eyes glowed up at Riku. He nodded in response, waved farewell, and closed the call.

"So, that was Mr. Scary-Pants everyone has been talking about." A voice muttered next to him. Riku looked over to his left and found a certain spiky headed man leaning on the counter, acid eyes wondering at the screen.

"Yeah, that's Seph for you. Scary, barely conscious of your discomfort, and kinda cranky when he doesn't know everything. Don't tell him I said that though." He sighed. "I can stay."

"Good, cuz even Sora won't be able to polish off this much if you guys leave. Sora! Dinner!" he called. A loud set of footsteps thundered down towards them, and Sora jumped down and plopped himself into a seat next to Riku. He had decided to put on a shirt, and now Riku felt kinda naked again.

"Bet I can out eat you." He smirked, poking Riku in the ribs. The silverette smiled and shook his head.

"You're too skinny to let it go anywhere. I'm way out of your league." He laughed, grabbing a fork.

"You're on!"

And the boys set on to stuffing as many eggs as they could down their throats, while their audience watched and occasionally commented.

"Wow, you're brother's a bottomless pit." Axel commented, shoveling some down his throat. Roxas shrugged.

"Yeah, he really is. I never even eat as much as that little runt." He said around a sausage patty. Axel snorted and looked at him strangely.

"Look in the mirror, Shorty, you're both the same height."

"Uh, I know you didn't just call me Shorty." He glared.

"And if I did?" Axel needled, smirking and raising a challenging brow.

"If you did, then you'd be provoking a monster you don't want to tango with." He replied loftily, nibbling on the remains of his toast. Axel smirked again before leaning in close and whispering.

"_Shorty_." He pulled back and continued, leaving Roxas blinking in surprise. "It's either Shorty or Roxy. You're either Napoleon or you're a stripper at a high end club. Take your pick."

Roxas, along with his brother and Riku, stopped and looked at the red head with shock. When Axel had leaned in, the blonde had sniffed and found that the man had smelled like woodchips, smoke, and some spice, something… mysterious. And it heated up his body in a _very_ unusual way. And what he had said had added to the shock as well. After the initial surprise, he was able to think a reply.

"Eh, Napoleon lost, I'd rather be a high end stripper. They get more money anyways." He said casually, and Axel, who had just taken a drink from his juice, spilled it all over his lap as he coughed. He had apparently not been expecting that answer. "And that seems to happen a lot when I'm around. Guess I'm just _that_ exciting. Okay, it's decided. Sora?"

"Yeah?" the brunette replied, knowing that tone.

"I guess I'm gonna go and be a stripper. What do ya say? You and me, hitting the night life, breaking hearts and taking money." He spread his hands wide, as if he was seeing a bigger picture. Sora caught on and smiled.

"Roxy and Sky, the wonder twins. You'll be in a maid outfit, I'll be the police officer." He smiled, nudging Riku in the ribs. The boy's face was so red, it almost matched Axel's hair. And speaking of Axel, his face had taken on a blush and a smirk that looked a little too happy.

"We'll make it big, earn us some money and then escape to Traverse Town. Nightly specials, become famous, we'll be stars!" Roxas continued, putting his arm around Axel's shoulders and smiling. "How does that sound, Axel?"

"I'd pay to see it. What about you Riku?"

"Um… hm… sure?" he asked, taking a gulp of water. His face was calming down, and he was almost back to normal. If not for the light blush on his cheeks.

"See? You already have customers, _Roxy_. Better get started, though. If you don't learn moves now, you'll never be able to compete with the other girls. But don't worry, you got the hips for natural talent, it'll be a breeze." Axel purred, and that sent a jolt through Roxas as he took in more of that scent.

Holy shit, Axel was flirting with him.

* * *

**A/N** Oh, I am so awfully teasing, aren't I? No? Well, alright, I'll make the next chapter naughtier. But I hope you liked it well enough! And I'm sorry to all the people I promised that I would update it sooner. I had written a fan fic, "Don't Forget The Memory Witch", about three months ago, and though it was finished, I hadn't posted it. It was collaboration between a friend and me, and we both decided that we should put it up. So, yeah, we've been busy editing and trying to smooth it out since we both wrote parts for some characters. If you don't mind romantic like things involving straight people, then you'll be okay with it. It is Namiku, meant as a gift for Ashley~!

Anyways, please review~! More reviews = more updates, more often.


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